MADRID, Aug 4, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Last week's deadly surge of irregular 
migrants into Spain's north African territory of Ceuta did not "compromise" 
Europe's visa-free Schengen travel zone, the Spanish interior minister said 
on Tuesday.

Fernando Grande-Marlaska added that Spain had already returned to Morocco 
70,000 of the 72,000 migrants who reached Ceuta, raising an earlier figure of 
around 50,000 arrivals.

The unprecedented rush from July 30 claimed 75 lives, the Spanish 
government's delegation in Ceuta said, raised from a previous toll of 72.

Many migrants drowned as they tried to swim around a barrier in the 
Mediterranean Sea in scenes that sparked a diplomatic spat with Spain's EU 
partners.

"It is clear that in no way was the Schengen area compromised in this 
crisis," Marlaska told reporters in Madrid following emergency talks with EU 
counterparts.

"We all agreed that the Schengen zone was never in the least danger," he 
said, adding that "there was no possibility of any secondary movement" of 
migrants from Ceuta to continental Europe.

Border passport checks are in force between Ceuta and mainland Spain.

The entry of the migrants sparked tensions with Spain's EU partners, with 
Italy and Denmark calling for the country to be suspended from the bloc's 
Schengen free-travel area.

Tuesday's meeting was therefore expected to be tense, but Marlaska said it 
passed off "in an absolutely constructive tone".

Around 1,000 "unprotected" minors are among the migrants who remain in Ceuta, 
according to Save the Children.

The Spanish government announced on Tuesday a package of 25 million euros 
($29 million) to help the authorities in Ceuta provide unaccompanied minors 
with emergency care.

Spain's Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has defended a more open 
approach to irregular immigration in contrast with tougher policies promoted 
by European peers.

This year his government launched a scheme to grant legal status to irregular 
migrants already living in Spain that is expected to benefit around 500,000 
people, mostly Latin Americans.