France, Aug. 8 -- Interior ministers from the EU's 27 member states attended an emergency meeting on Tuesday at Dublin's invitation, with Ireland having assumed the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union last month.

Spain said it had returned "almost all" of the migrants who entered Ceuta from neighbouring Morocco. But the episode has reignited tensions between Spain and countries advocating a tougher approach to immigration, including Italy and Denmark.

The meeting saw Ireland attempting to reconcile sharply differing views, while also navigating a significant shift in its own migration policy.

Twenty-two EU states signed a letter expressing "deep concern" over the situation in Ceuta and criticising Spain's handling ...