EU interior ministers have called for tougher border measures and a crackdown on human trafficking following a deadly immigration surge in Ceuta, a Spanish exclave in North Africa. Over 80 people died on both sides of the border, some drowned while attempting to swim to Ceuta and others were crushed or trampled during efforts to climb a breakwater and border fence. The EU has praised Spain's response and called for stronger borders, faster returns, and expanded efforts to dismantle migrant-smuggling networks. Spain and Morocco have blamed misinformation and human-smugling networks for fuelling the surge. Spain's Supreme Court recently ruled that migrants intercepted while swimming toward Ceuta or Melilla could not be returned without regular immigration procedures.