MADRID, July 31. /TASS/. No European Union member state has the right to unilaterally expel another country from the Schengen Agreement or suspend its participation, former EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell stated.

"It just can’t. Under EU law, no Member State can unilaterally suspend another’s participation in Schengen," he posted on X, commenting on Italian authorities’ statements regarding their readiness to suspend the free-travel agreement with Spain due to an influx of illegal migrants into Ceuta.

Earlier, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares announced he had summoned the Italian ambassador following remarks by his counterpart Antonio Tajani about the intent to suspend the Schengen Agreement.

Thousands of migrants managed to reach Ceuta by swimming or walking around the breakwater separating the city from Morocco, Spanish media reported. Up to 60,000 illegal migrants may have entered Ceuta over the past 24 hours, Mayor Juan Jesus Vivas said. At least 24 people died attempting to reach the city, according to the Cadena SER radio station, the EFE news agency reported.

Amid the migration crisis, Spanish authorities deployed the military to ensure security. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska plan to visit the city on July 31.