Pedro Sánchez is likely facing one of the European Union's most delicate and potentially complicated debates: migration and border control. In the crises or key moments that have marked community policy in recent times – European funds, the energy crisis, the Mercosur agreement, or the "no to war" in the face of the Middle East conflict – the head of the Spanish executive has boasted of having rallied supporters to his position – sometimes with more difficulty than others – and of emerging victorious. But the migration crisis in Ceuta, although increasingly voices are calling for it to be referred to as a political and humanitarian crisis, has triggered a standoff with some member states that may prove resistant.

When we think of borders, we tend to think of increasingly fortified physical spaces with fences, razor wire, and the presence of police and military forces on both sides. While internal borders within the Schengen Area have been disappearing, external borders have become increasingly impenetrable and harmful. Between 2014 and 2022, the total length of fences on the EU's external borders increased from 315 km to 2,048 km. To give you an idea, the infamous "Trump wall" is 900 km long.