Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez broadly blasted his fellow European leaders for their response to the surge of tens of thousands of migrants from Morocco to the Spanish border, seemingly criticizing Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni for deciding to resume European border controls in the wake of the incident.Sánchez appeared to take issue with Italy's decision to temporarily suspend Schengen Area free-travel arrangements with Spain.The Schengen Area is an agreement between 29 European countries which abolishes passport controls and allows people to travel across European borders without providing documents."In the current international context, the European Union cannot afford this kind of selfish, polarising and unlawful reaction," Sánchez said in a letter obtained by the Agence France-Presse (AFP) news wire.Sánchez, who leads the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, touted his country's quick turnaround in expelling nearly all of the 50,000-60,000 migrants who crossed the border back to Morocco."Despite these indisputable facts," Sánchez wrote, "the reaction of European governments over the past few hours has been rather asymmetric.
Most have showed us their support and solidarity, and have offered their assistance.Others, however, have chosen to attack Spain and to call for its temporary exclusion from the Schengen Area."MIGRANT CRISIS PUSHES ITALY TO RESTORE BORDER CHECKS WITH SPAIN, TESTING EUROPE'S OPEN-BORDER SYSTEM"Such an attitude — driven by prejudice, fake news, ignorance, or political interest — is not only contrary to European law, humanitarian law, and the principles of solidarity that bind us together," he reportedly wrote.
"It is also contrary to Europe’s long-term interests and to the most basic common sense, because Ceuta is not part of the Schengen Area, because there are almost no irregular migrants left unreturned, and because Spain is, according to Frontex, one of the least porous external borders of the European Union, with a...