The Ceuta crisis is still rippling through the EU
The fallout from the migrant invasion of Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta has continued. Among other things, it has cast more doubt over EU solidarity in the face of such large movements of people, especially so many undocumented young men, while underlining the benefits of strong control of national borders.
As it happens, the risks that these migrants would be able to travel seamlessly to mainland Spain – and hence all the way the Channel – were very small. For a start, Ceuta is not part of the Schengen area, and people travelling to the mainland still need to pass police checkpoints.
Equally, though, the invasion must have been terrifying for the Spanish residents of Ceuta. It also cost the lives of many of the migrants who attempted the crossing. It cannot be downplayed on the basis that most have now gone back home.
This crisis has thrown more light too on Spain’s relatively liberal migration policies, even if these migrants would not have been eligible. Fortunately, the UK now has slightly less to fear outside the EU.
Should the UK leave the ECHR?
Meanwhile, Reform UK has revived its plan to tackle the small boats crisis by using the Royal Navy to return migrants across the Channel. This raises a host of legal, military and practical issues. But, just like the Ceuta crisis, it has also added fuel to the debate about leaving the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).
Britain Unbound is a "broad church" and has no single position on whether the UK should withdraw from the ECHR. Nonetheless, the ECHR has been used to block deportations and frustrate UK policy in many areas. Leaving would restore sovereignty to UK courts and Parliament.
Brexit has made it simpler to leave the ECHR too. The ECHR is part of the Council of Europe, not the European Union. But it is also part of the EU’s constitutional ecosystem and every country that wants to join the EU is expected to join the ECHR first.
Leaving the ECHR would have legal and political costs. In particular, the ECHR is part of other treaties, including the Good Friday Agreement and the UK’s post-Brexit trade deal with the EU (the TCA). These problems could be overcome, but they would need to be addressed.
In sum, the option of leaving the ECHR might best be seen as a “Brexit freedom” rather than as an unequivocal “Brexit benefit”. But these decisions can now be based solely on the UK's national interests - and this would not be the case if the UK were still in the EU.
