How Spain’s migration surge tested E.U. border policy

This article was originally published on CFR.org and updated by NBC News.

Tens of thousands of migrants crossed from Morocco into Ceuta, an autonomous Spanish territory in North Africa , between July 30 and 31. The unexpected crisis overwhelmed local authorities and infrastructure, marking a first test of the European Union’s (E.U.) new Pact on Migration and Asylum. The scale and speed of the crossing exposed a real flash point in Europe’s migration system , but how fast authorities regained control has become its own point of contention—over whether the E.U. system is failing or working as designed.