There have been fewer border crossings in Europe this year than in Ceuta in one day

The Austrian EU Commissioner for Migration Magnus Brunner tried to de-escalate the matter to the APA on Thursday evening: they are in contact with the authorities in Spain and Morocco, and Europe’s border and coast guard Frontex will also provide support.

The latest pictures from Ceuta are stirring up fears and playing into the hands of immigration opponents and right-wing populists. If you look at the overall European picture, the number of irregular border crossings has been falling overall since 2024: Between January and June of this year, Frontex registered around 49,000 border crossings, fewer people than arrived in Ceuta in one day, according to Spanish authorities. This is a decrease of 37 percent compared to the same period last year. Around 1,300 people drowned while attempting to cross the Mediterranean during this period

What the Frontex figures also show: A decrease can be observed on all migration routes – apart from those in the Western Mediterranean, i.e. from Morocco and Algeria towards Spanish territory.

Morocco, Europe’s “bouncer”

The hard-negotiated and controversial EU Pact on Migration and Asylum has been in force since June and is intended to ensure a uniform screening procedure at the EU’s external borders. Austria also blames the reform passed in May 2024 for the decline in numbers. This stipulates, for example, that identity and asylum checks are carried out directly at the EU’s external border and that asylum procedures with little prospect of asylum are given priority in the check. But there is still a struggle to build the infrastructure, especially the deportation centers in non-EU countries. Even with the appropriate infrastructure, the rush to Ceuta would have been difficult to control.

In recent years, the EU has paid billions of euros to North African states for holding back hundreds of thousands of refugees; Vehicles, ships and equipment for police and security forces were sent. Between 2015 and 2020, Morocco alone received around 1.5 billion euros from the EU. At the same time, they are supported in diplomatic matters – Morocco, for example, with its territorial claim to Western Sahara.

The North African countries, in return, are holding back migrants for Europe. The Moroccan Interior Ministry alone claims to have thwarted 73,640 attempts at irregular migration in the previous year. In previous years there were sometimes up to 87,000 (2023).

The EU does not want to know anything about violations of the Geneva Refugee Convention or human rights. But reports of abductions and detention of migrants continue to emerge. In Libya, refugees are being held in prisons where inhumane conditions prevail. In the summer of 2024, research by several media outlets caused a stir, showing images of abandoned refugees from sub-Saharan countries who were abducted from Tunisia, Morocco and Mauritania to desert regions. The EU itself denies responsibility. According to the research, the governments of the countries deny any human rights violations.

The EU has been seeking a readmission agreement with Morocco for over 20 years – but Rabat is resisting taking back third-country nationals. Spain and Morocco have had one for over 30 years. Implementation often fails due to legal hurdles or Rabat’s reluctance.