The European Union will meet urgently on Tuesday to discuss the migration crisis in Ceuta, meeting its interior ministers

The European Union will hold an extraordinary meeting of interior ministers next Tuesday to discuss developments in the migration crisis in Ceuta and to coordinate a joint response.

The videoconference was convened by Ireland, which holds the presidency of the EU Council in the second half of this year, and was convened after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and 22 other Member State leaders requested an urgent meeting.

The Irish Prime Minister, Mr Martin, has announced the call, stating that the meeting of the Justice and Home Affairs Council (JHA) will be chaired by the Irish Justice Minister, Jim O'Callaghan.

Martin added that he is in "close contact" with all Member States and European institutions and is closely monitoring developments in Ceuta.

Sanchez's request and the support of 22 other leaders

The call comes a few hours after Pedro Sánchez called for an extraordinary meeting of the European institutions to provide a 'joint response' to the migration crisis, which has been caused by the arrival of thousands of people in Ceuta in recent days.

The leaders of 22 other Member States have also sent letters to the Irish Presidency of the EU Council, to the President of the European Council, António Costa, and to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, requesting a coordinated response from the European Union to the situation.

Shock over crisis management

In the letter sent by Sanchez, the President of the Spanish Government expresses his "deep concern" about the reaction of some European governments to the migration crisis.

It considers that the proposals of countries such as Italy, Sweden and Denmark to temporarily expel Spain from the Schengen area or to re-establish border controls are the result of an 'asymmetric reaction' based on 'prejudices, false news, ignorance or political interests' and are incompatible with European law and the principle of solidarity between Member States.

The leaders of 22 other countries, on the other hand, believe that the migration policies of the Spanish Government have contributed to the escalation of the crisis.

In their letter, they state that the recent Supreme Court ruling on "immediate refunds" and the unusual regularization of a large number of migrants may have acted as a factor of attraction for new arrivals.

The signatories call for a stronger response from the European Union to combat irregular migration, strengthen the Union's external borders and review policies that may encourage migratory flows, as well as support for Spain to restore effective border control with Morocco.