The mass entry of around 80,000 migrants into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta from Morocco was a “hybrid attack” on an “external border of the European Union”, Spain’s former foreign minister Arancha González Laya has told Euronews.
The goal was to “use migration as a tool” to “weaken” the European Union at a time when migration is a “sensitive social issue”, the former minister added.
Rabat’s potential role in orchestrating the border breach has come under the spotlight after leaked police reports suggested Moroccan security forces could have played a role in facilitating the incident. Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has nonetheless stood in Morocco’s defence.
González Laya says she believes Spain and the EU must have “the best relationship possible with their neighbours”, as this is “good for the stability of Europe”.