EU lawmakers accuse Morocco of putting children’s lives at risk

BRUSSELS — European Union lawmakers on Thursday accused Morocco of endangering the lives of children in an attempt to put political pressure on Spain, after thousands of people crossed into Spain’s North African enclave of Ceuta last month.

In a 397-to-85 resolution with 196 abstentions, the lawmakers urged the government in Rabat and the EU’s executive branch, the European Commission, to rapidly finalize a “re-admission” agreement so migrants can in the future be returned legally.

They say 1,200 unaccompanied minors were among those who tried to enter Ceuta by scaling a border fence or swimming around it. Spain’s Interior Ministry estimates that more than 10,000 people crossed altogether. Morocco has since taken back most of the migrants. Entering the enclave put them in EU territory, where they could try to apply for asylum.

The surge of migrants took place after Spain agreed to provide medical treatment for the Sahrawi leader heading the fight for an independent Western Sahara, which was annexed by Morocco in the 1970s. Rabat reacted furiously and recalled its ambassador in Madrid.

The lawmakers rejected “Morocco’s use of border control and migration, and unaccompanied minors in particular, as political pressure” against an EU nation. They deplored that children and families had been involved in the crossing, “putting their lives and safety at clear risk.”

In the nonbinding resolution, they urged Spain and Morocco to work closely together to allow for the repatriation of the children to their families, acting in the best interests of the child and respecting national and international law.