Radical right-wing patriots gladly ride the migratory waves. They are their preferred media shock, caused by the “invasion” of the external enemy, allowing hardline solutions and enabling their leaders to appear as the necessary saviors of the homeland in troubled times. They are an opportunity to show strength in the national imagination, but not to promote better solutions.
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The freedom of movement based on Schengen enjoys wide acceptance and generates numerous benefits for European economies. The tightening of the European Union’s migration policy is a constant, and agreements with third countries (including Morocco) are promoted for the repatriation of migrants, while strict control of the Union’s external borders is exercised – fortress Europe. It is the recipe resulting from the consensus among conservatives (for example, Merz in Germany), certain social democrats (like Frederiksen in Denmark), and the radical right (with Meloni at the forefront).
Every European crisis is a test for European solidarity
Every migratory crisis is a test for European solidarity, but not for freedom of movement nor European migration policy, which continue to be based on the same principles. Ceuta has been the perfect opportunity to blame Spain for the recent extraordinary regularization, when other countries do it often, and for lax border control, when most irregular entries in the Mediterranean happen in Italy.
Seen in perspective, the letter from the 22 borders on the ridiculous. The citizens of Ceuta and Melilla undergo specific controls to enter mainland Spain. There have been no migrant crossings to other European countries that justify temporary mobility restrictions, nor the proposed expulsion of Spain from the Schengen area, something not foreseen in the Treaties. The crisis was short, manufactured like other hybrid threats and without risk to the entire EU member states. Schengen remains standing and functioning, despite the fireworks promoted by the Europe of patriots.
The only migration-related proposal from the radical right has been made by Vox for years. It calls for a permanent office of the European border agency, Frontex, to be established in Ceuta and Melilla, in an attempt to Europeanize a national problem. Other patriotic forces, however, only send signals of opportunism in national terms whenever an irregular migration crisis arises. Any effort to strengthen joint mechanisms at the European level is met with skepticism.
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The external dimension of the borders allows showing national muscle, so their European harmonization will not happen in the Union of patriots. This Europe, which could consolidate in 2027 with the French presidential elections, would result in constant patriotic clashes: Le Pen has proposed repatriating European nationals of migrant origin, and this would annoy Meloni if it involved Italian citizens.
In the north and east, solidarity is expressed when Russia is the hand that rocks the cradle. In 2021, EU member states showed solidarity with Poland against the hybrid attack that instrumentalized migrants on its border with Belarus. Lukashenko then acted as a special envoy of the Kremlin, the main actor in European destabilization. However, this solidarity has not been expressed in the same way when the pressure comes from partners like Turkey, Tunisia, or Morocco. Geopolitical Europe has its brake in multiple national divisions.
The recent EU Justice and Home Affairs Council toned down criticism of Spain’s extraordinary regularization and blurred its link to the Ceuta crisis. But displays of solidarity among Europeans came late, and only when the patriots had already set the tone of the debate. The best antidote for the next migratory crisis will be having learned the lesson of Ceuta: European solidarity must not give way to opportunism in national terms.
Pol Morillas is director of CIDOB (Barcelona Centre for International Affairs) and author of the book In the Big League’s Yard. Europe Facing a Hostile World (Debate, 2025)
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