With the confirmation of extraordinary checks on arrivals from Spain, the political crisis triggered by the tragedy in Ceuta is worsening. Meanwhile, the death toll of migrants who died at the end of July whilst attempting to enter the only part of Europe on African soil continues to rise. Regarding the lessons to be learnt from this dramatic series of events for the future of Europe, we draw attention to an analysis by Ferruccio Pastore, director of FIERI, published on 31 August in the ‘Commentaries’ series of the Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI).