Speaking on Luxembourg public radio station 100komma7 on Monday, Prime Minister Luc Frieden highlighted that none of the migrants who recently arrived in Ceuta managed to cross into mainland Europe.
A result that, in his opinion, demonstrates Spain’s effective border management and protection of the EU’s external frontier.
Frieden explained that he had expressed his solidarity to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and considered Spain to have fulfilled its responsibilities regarding border control.
This was the reason, he said, that Luxembourg declined to sign an open letter circulated over the weekend by 22 of the 27 EU member states, which criticised Spain’s actions. Frieden described this letter as "unfair".
The Luxembourg Prime Minister went on to criticise the motivations of the countries behind the open letter, attributing the initiative in particular to the Italian and Danish prime ministers.
According to Frieden, their approach to European migration policy is "less European and less supportive of Schengen" than Luxembourg's stance.
Moreover, Frieden argued that the situation in Ceuta is symptomatic of a broader trend, as some EU states no longer recognise the value of a shared migration policy.
He underlined that protecting the EU's external borders is a collective European responsibility, not a task for individual nations, and stressed the need to combat smuggling networks, deepen cooperation with third countries such as Morocco, and safeguard the Schengen system.
Frieden said that Spain's handling of the Ceuta situation demonstrates the effectiveness of close cooperation with partner states.
According to him, legal migration pathways and economic partnerships are vital to enable people to build futures in their home countries.
On Tuesday, Luxembourg's Minister for Home Affairs Léon Gloden is set to take part in a video conference with other European interior ministers to discuss the situation in Ceuta.
Frieden emphasised that it will be essential for Luxembourg to restate its strong commitment to the Schengen system, which he regards as one of the EU's most significant achievements.
He reiterated that Schengen can only function if the external borders are properly managed, a standard that, in his view, Spain met in this particular case.
