By: Dr Matevž Tomšič
The recent events in Ceuta have shown how porous the external borders of the European Union are – at least in certain places and in certain countries. Let us recall: in just a few days, approximately 80,000 people broke in from neighbouring Morocco into the territory of this Spanish exclave, which is almost as many as its number of inhabitants. Most were young Moroccans, and a few thousand were people from sub‑Saharan Africa. Nearly a hundred lost their lives in the process.
It is true that most of these illegal migrants were later returned (or went back voluntarily), but the situation has not yet normalised. It is absolutely not true that the crisis has been resolved, even less that the authorities successfully dealt with it, as claimed by Spain’s left‑wing government and its supporters across Europe. On the contrary, it is precisely this government that is the main culprit for the fact that the migrant invasion happened at all.
Spain currently has one of the most radical left‑wing governments in Europe. After the fall of Golob’s government, we can probably say it is the leading one in this category. This is largely connected to the balance of political forces, since the leader of the Socialists, Pedro Sánchez, had to form a coalition with two smaller parties whose ideological profile is very similar to Slovenia’s Levica in order to remain prime minister. Radical left‑wing woke‑style politics is visible in all areas, but perhaps most clearly in the approach to immigration. The government has consistently advocated an “open‑door policy,” meaning it supports mass immigration, including, or especially, from third‑world countries. This year it even announced a mass legalisation of the status of illegal migrants, which would apply to more than a million people. Added to this is a recent decision by the Spanish Supreme Court (staffed with left‑leaning appointees), which made deportation of illegal migrants more difficult. This was a clear signal that everyone is “welcome.”
Partly, Sánchez and his allies are driven by pragmatic reasons – similar to their colleagues across the Western world. By showing favour to migrants and increasing their numbers, left‑wing parties, whose support is steadily declining in many countries, try to build a replacement electorate. Migrants who eventually obtain citizenship are seen as their future voters. But modern Western leftists are also driven by an ideology. It is their multicultural orientation, which assumes that mixing cultures is inherently good. This is usually tied to the belief, also typical of the new left, that the West is responsible for poor living conditions in the third world, and therefore Westerners supposedly have a moral duty to accept anyone who wishes to come. In doing so, they ignore the consequences of such “openness,” such as erosion of social cohesion, lower security, and rising social costs that can lead to the collapse of Western societies.
Of course, the reasons for the rise in migration, including illegal migration, vary. In the case of Ceuta – and in connection with migrants from Morocco in general – we cannot ignore the responsibility of Moroccan authorities. Morocco is one of the most orderly African countries, and its institutions operate very effectively by the standards of the continent. Therefore, it is hard to believe that they could not have prevented the mass incursion described. It is reasonable to assume that the Moroccan state wants to rid itself of problematic citizens in this way (among illegal Moroccan migrants there are many types of criminals). Because of this, the European Union should clearly demand that Morocco take responsibility for curbing illegal migration and condition financial assistance on this. But before that, Europeans must first “clear their own minds” so they can finally act effectively to protect their own societies.