EU pledges coordinated response as Spain reports returning to normal in Ceuta migrant crisis

BRUSSELS — The European Union said an urgent and coordinated European response is needed to recent developments involving Spain's North African autonomous city of Ceuta, warning that such events could weaken confidence in the bloc's system for tackling irregular migration. In a written statement, the EU reiterated its determination to prevent smuggling networks from threatening the security of the bloc's external borders and expressed satisfaction with the cooperation between Spain and Morocco on the swift repatriation of migrants who entered Ceuta illegally. Spanish authorities reported that nearly all of the migrants who reached Ceuta in recent days have been returned to Morocco and said the situation has "almost returned to normal." The EU statement comes after several member states criticized Spain over its migration policy. Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska announced that at least 67 migrants died while trying to reach Ceuta.