EU offered Spain support ‘from first moment’ of Ceuta crisis, says von der Leyen, after Sánchez hits out – Europe live

‘Not a single person reached mainland Spain or rest of EU,’ says European Commission president, after Spanish PM condemned ‘selfish, polarising’ reaction of some countries The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said she welcomed calls from leaders for a meeting to “take stock of what has happened” in Ceuta, but maintained that the EU had offered help to Spain “from the first moment”. Her remarks were likely a response to criticism from the Spanish prime minister, who accused Europe of providing “little support” in dealing with the border crisis and called for an emergency meeting of EU interior ministers to address the situation. double quotation markThe good news is that the vast majority of those who arrived illegally have returned to Morocco, due to the effective work of Spanish and Moroccan law enforcement. Not a single person reached mainland Spain or the rest of the EU. This shows why the control of our European borders matters. We have a strong system in place. But it needs to be further strengthened.” As EU officials meet to discuss a joint response to irregular arrivals in Ceuta, it is worth remembering that the Spanish prime ministe