Germany wants the European Union to have a specific mechanism to react much faster when thousands of people cross an external border irregularly in a very short period of time. The German Interior Minister, Alexander Dobrindt, has cited the crisis registered in Ceuta at the end of July as the main example and has requested this Saturday that, when the authorities determine that there is an exceptional situation that does not respond to a humanitarian emergency, it should be possible to activate accelerated return procedures. At the same time, he proposes that the European agency Frontex be able to send response teams to the affected state within a maximum of 24 hours.
Dobrindt presented the initiative in Munich during a meeting on migration attended by European ministers and the Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration, Magnus Brunner. The meeting aims to strengthen controls at external borders, reduce reaction times, and advance common mechanisms to return those who do not have the right to remain in community territory. The German initiative thus adds to other proposals that the European Commission and Spain have put forward during September following the massive entry registered in Ceuta.
Ceuta, the case used by Germany as a reference
The German government has turned what happened in Ceuta on July 30 and 31 into the example of the situation it intends to regulate. More than 72,000 people entered from Morocco at that time, according to figures cited by Reuters, although a large part returned later and Spain estimated at the end of September that around 12,000 were still in the autonomous city, including minors. Dobrindt argues that similar episodes have repeatedly occurred at European external borders and considers it necessary to agree in advance on what criteria allow declaring a "migration crisis" and what extraordinary measures can be adopted when that happens.
Your proposal also distinguishes between a massive arrival related to a humanitarian emergency and another situation that, in the judgment of the authorities, responds to misinformation, instrumentalization, or other factors. Germany suggests that in this second case, the procedures determining who has the right to stay and who must be returned could be expedited. The proposal is still in the political phase and there is currently no German or European legislative text that establishes this new system with the conditions announced this Saturday.
Frontex should be able to react within 24 hours
The second part of the plan affects Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency. Dobrindt proposes that it be able to deploy a rapid response force in the affected country within the first 24 hours of a crisis. Germany also wants to strengthen its participation in return operations, a function in which Frontex already provides support but whose responsibility currently, in general, lies with the national authorities.
The change would mean moving towards a more European management of border crises. Frontex could provide personnel, technical means, and operational support from practically the beginning of an emergency, instead of relying on more prolonged processes of application and coordination. This debate coincides with Brussels' plans to expand the agency's mandate and with the Spanish request to establish a permanent presence of Frontex in Ceuta and Melilla. Spain already requested additional agency personnel in August to assist in the triage of people remaining in Ceuta and later proposed a stable presence in the autonomous cities.
Brussels is already preparing an emergency mechanism
The German proposal does not arise in isolation. The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced on September 16 that Brussels wants to create an emergency framework that allows for the temporary flexibilization of some procedures to accelerate returns during exceptional situations like that of Ceuta. The Commission considers that the external borders of each member state are also borders of the entire Union and has called for a more coordinated European response to episodes of migratory pressure.
The new European Pact on Migration and Asylum, in application since June 12, 2026, already includes crisis protocols, accelerated asylum and return procedures, operational assistance from agencies like Frontex, and extraordinary solidarity mechanisms when a State is subjected to disproportionate pressure. Germany believes that this framework can be further strengthened for situations of sudden and large-scale arrivals.
Spain also requests faster procedures
Madrid has defended a similar position in some aspects over the past few weeks. The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, asked the European Commission on September 17 for new legislative changes that would allow for "streamlining" return and international protection procedures in migration crises like the one recorded in Ceuta. Previously, the Government had requested support from Frontex, Europol, and the EU Asylum Agency to identify newcomers, process files, and subsequently execute certain returns.
The Spanish Executive claims that in the first hours of the crisis it was possible to return tens of thousands of people to Morocco thanks to coordination with Moroccan authorities. Pedro Sánchez stated before Congress that about 50,000 had returned in less than 24 hours and approximately 63,000 in the first 72 hours. These figures correspond to the estimate provided by the Spanish Government regarding that operation and explain why Ceuta has now become one of the main case studies in the European debate on how to respond to mass entries.
An accelerated expulsion could not be automatic
The idea of accelerating returns, however, has legal limits. The EU does not allow automatic collective expulsions and maintains the right to request international protection. Return decisions must be based on an individual assessment and are subject to guarantees such as the principle of non-refoulement, which prevents sending a person to a country where they may suffer persecution, torture, or other serious risks. There are also specific safeguards for vulnerable individuals and minors.
Therefore, a faster European mechanism could reduce administrative deadlines or concentrate extraordinary resources at the border, but it would not mean that all people arriving during a crisis could be expelled immediately simply for having entered irregularly. First, each person would need to be identified and it must be determined whether they have the right to request or receive protection, in addition to checking whether the destination country accepts their readmission. The Commission itself maintains that the new return regulation must operate respecting fundamental rights and international law.
Berlin wants to turn border crises into a European response
The German proposal now opens a new discussion about how much power should be transferred from member states to European institutions and agencies. Dobrindt wants there to be a common definition of emergency, extraordinary procedures prepared before the crisis occurs, and a Frontex capable of deploying practically immediately. The Commission, for its part, is already working on expanding the instruments for migration crises and Commissioner Magnus Brunner has argued that people without the right to remain in the EU must leave the community territory.
The next step will be to check how much support the initiative receives among European governments and how it integrates with the reforms that Brussels already has underway. For now, Germany has proposed a political objective, not a new rule already in force: to accelerate return decisions and ensure that Frontex can be on the ground within 24 hours when a European border faces a crisis comparable to that of Ceuta.