German Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil has called for respect and solidarity with Spain amid the debate over the surge of migrants into Ceuta, saying on Saturday the country had acted decisively.
Images of tens of thousands of people gaining access to the Spanish exclave of Ceuta in North Africa - some by swimming and climbing - caused widespread alarm in the European Union. Various explanations have been put forward for how the situation came about.
"Migrants were used in an attempt to divide Europe," Klingbeil, who is also German finance minister, said. "We must act with Spain, not talk about Spain."
Klingbeil, of the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD), said Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez had ensured, through decisive action, that the vast majority of people had returned from Ceuta to Morocco within a very short space of time.
"Especially in situations like these, Europe must not allow itself to be divided," Klingbeil said.