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EU faces internal division as migrant crisis heightens China trade risks

The Ceuta incident, triggered after Morocco’s border controls appeared to fail on July 30, killed at least 75 people, according to Spanish authorities.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Europe

The European Union’s annual August break was expected to give officials time to prepare for a difficult autumn negotiating its trade relationship with China, but a border crisis on the bloc’s southern flank has instead exposed divisions among its 27 member states, according to SCMP Economy.

The turmoil began on July 30, when an estimated 72,000 mainly Moroccan migrants surged into Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in North Africa, after Moroccan border controls appeared to collapse. Spanish authorities estimated that more than 100 people died, with at least 75 deaths reported as occurring mostly at sea.

The surge has raised suspicions that Moroccan authorities may have used migrant flows as leverage in response to Spanish efforts to improve ties with its neighbor and rival Algeria, SCMP Economy reported.

A policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, Alberto Rizzi, said the episode tested how the EU responds when one member state is under coercion, adding that member responses were swift. The situation has renewed questions about how prepared the EU is for a broader confrontation with China.

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