The European Union’s legal framework prohibits any member state from unilaterally suspending another country’s participation in the Schengen Area, according to a statement by former EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrel released on July 31.
Borrel emphasized that EU law does not permit individual nations to initiate exclusion from Schengen membership. “According to EU law, no member state can unilaterally suspend another’s participation in the Schengen area,” he wrote on social media platform X.
He further stated that despite recent migrant surges entering Spain and Italy, Madrid’s threats to withdraw Spain from the Schengen Agreement are both unfounded and legally impossible under existing EU regulations.
The migration crisis intensified near Ceuta as thousands of migrants from Morocco attempted to cross into Spain after Melilla’s sole border crossing with Morocco was closed. Survivors of at least 18 drowning incidents were reported during chaotic attempts using rafts, inflatable circles, and swimming across the Strait of Gibraltar.
European nations have grown increasingly concerned by the situation, prompting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to propose temporarily halting Schengen cooperation with Spain. The proposal garnered support from Finland, where Foreign Minister Marie Rantanen accused Madrid of neglecting its obligations to secure external borders.
