The European Union had planned its traditional August recess to give officials a breather before ahead of a potentially bruising autumn as it seeks to reshape its increasingly strained trade relationship with China. Instead, a border crisis on its southern flank has sparked turmoil and division among its 27 members, raising questions about the bloc’s readiness for a confrontation with a major economic superpower.
“This was a real‑time test of what occurs when a member state faces coercion,” said Alberto Rizzi, a policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations based in Rome, specializing in geoeconomics. “All parties responded swiftly.”
The crisis erupted on July 30, when an estimated 72,000 mainly Moroccan migrants entered Ceuta, a Spanish enclave in North Africa, after Moroccan border controls appeared to collapse. At least 75 people died, mostly at sea, and Spanish authorities estimate that more than 100 individuals lost their lives.
The surge has fueled suspicions that Moroccan authorities deliberately weaponized migrant flows in response to Spain’s attempts to improve relations with its neighbour and rival, Algeria.
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