Kõlvart: restoring temporary border control is a necessary and justified step
Estonian Centre Party chairman Mihhail Kõlvart says Estonia should put its own security first and supports temporary border controls, arguing that the migration crisis in Spain's Ceuta shows the need to act on reality, not slogans.
The leader of Estonia's Centre Party, Mihhail Kõlvart, has said that politicians should base their approach to the migration crisis on reality rather than slogans. In his view, temporarily restoring border controls is a necessary and justified measure.
Writing on social media, Kõlvart pointed to Spain as an example of how a crisis can emerge from just a few political decisions. He cited the Spanish government's decision to legalize hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants and the Supreme Court's ruling that people arriving by sea cannot be immediately sent back. Together, he said, these created a situation in which tens of thousands of people entered Europe within a single day.
According to Kõlvart, the current events are a reminder that in a crisis every state primarily acts in its own interests. He noted that Italy had prioritized its own security and temporarily suspended the Schengen agreement with Spain. Estonia, he argued, should also put its own interests and security first.
Kõlvart criticized Prime Minister Kristen Michal's statement that freedom of movement in Europe is an absolute priority and that temporary border controls would not serve Estonia's interests. He called this a slogan that ignores reality. Free movement, he said, does not outweigh the need to reduce the security threats Europe is currently facing.
The Centre Party leader said the situation in Spain has clearly spiraled out of control and damage has already been done. He also admitted that Estonia is not ready for such migration crises, and that even a crisis ten times smaller would be catastrophic for the country. This does not mean, he added, that everyone should only look after themselves during difficult times. Spain must be helped, but Madrid also has to move toward resolving the crisis and take steps to prevent it from happening again.
At the same time, Kõlvart said that helping Spain should not allow the problem to spread across Europe. Although most migrants have already returned, there needs to be confidence that the solution is sustainable and that no new waves of migration or attempted border crossings will follow. Until then, temporarily restoring border control is a necessary and justified step.
The crisis in the Spanish North African enclave of Ceuta occurred on 30–31 July, when at least 50,000 people entered the small territory from Morocco by land and sea. Spain had to send army units to restore order. According to Spain's Interior Ministry, by the evening of 31 July the vast majority of undocumented migrants had voluntarily returned to Morocco, facing a lack of food and shelter in Ceuta and no way to reach mainland Spain across the Strait of Gibraltar.
