MADRID — Spain said Tuesday that last week’s influx of irregular migrants into its North African territory of Ceuta did not threaten Europe’s visa-free Schengen travel area, as authorities reported returning about 70,000 of the 72,000 migrants who entered the enclave.
Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska made the statement after emergency talks with European Union counterparts in Madrid, amid tensions with some EU countries over the migrant arrivals.
“It is clear that in no way was the Schengen area compromised in this crisis,” Marlaska told reporters.
He said the Schengen zone faced no danger because migrants in Ceuta could not move freely into continental Europe. Passport checks remain in place between Ceuta and mainland Spain.
The influx began July 30, when thousands of migrants entered Ceuta from neighboring Morocco. Spanish authorities said 72 people died during the rush, including migrants who drowned while attempting to swim around a border barrier in the Mediterranean Sea.
The arrivals triggered calls from Italy and Denmark to suspend Spain from the Schengen free-travel area.
Marlaska said Tuesday’s meeting with EU officials took place in an “absolutely constructive tone” despite the tensions.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has defended Spain’s comparatively open approach to irregular immigration as several European governments push for stricter policies.
Spain also launched a program this year to grant legal status to irregular migrants already living in the country. The government expects the measure to benefit about 500,000 people, most of them from Latin America.