A letter signed by 22 EU leaders on Aug. 1 criticized Spain's migration policies, blaming Madrid's regularization scheme as a pull factor and calling for stronger external borders and more effective returns, after tens of thousands of migrants crossed from Morocco into the Spanish exclave of Ceuta on July 30, Reuters reported the same day. Italy reinstated checks on sea and air arrivals from Spain for one month starting Aug. 1, while France stepped up controls at its Spanish border, and EU interior ministers will convene for emergency talks on Aug. 4.