How the securitarian agenda came to dominate EU migration policy

A right-wing, security-first approach to migration has become mainstream. The mass influx of migrants into Ceuta showed that Spain’s more progressive model has become an exception in Europe, with even left-wing parties adopting securitarian language.

At the end of July, tens of thousands of irregular migrants crossed into Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco, an incident that left around 100 dead and pushed migration policy back to the centre of European politics.

The episode has not only opened a deep diplomatic rift between Rome and Madrid over how migration should be managed, but also exposed Spain’s growing isolation as right-wing political forces come to dominate the debate.