Most experts in China argued that a real, effective common EU migration policy is impossible due to divisions between Southern European and Central and Eastern European states, exacerbated by the rise of far-right parties. A few viewed the crisis as accelerating a different trajectory: the emergence of irregular migration as a security or “hybrid” threat that could legitimize further externalization of EU borders. Therefore, Chinese assessments of the crisis in Ceuta were not uniformly pessimistic about the EU’s ability to adapt – though, for now, most are.
Leonardo Bruni (T.wai & EUI – European University Institute) is author of the issue “Chinese Officials, Experts and Media Discuss the Ceuta Crisis” of the ChinaMed Observer.
