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Ceuta drives legal overhaul
On Tuesday, Spain’s government approved two draft laws to reform its asylum and immigration legislation to “adapt Spanish legislation to the European Pact on Migration and Asylum,” as the Ceuta crisis remained unresolved.
“adapt Spanish legislation to the European Pact on Migration and Asylum”
Xinhua said the mass influx saw an estimated 70,000 people enter the Spanish North African enclave from Morocco on July 30, and that although most later returned to Morocco, several thousand remained in the enclave.
The reforms were presented after Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, with Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska announcing changes and Vice President and Minister of Economy, Trade and Business Carlos Cuerpo describing the measure following a meeting with Ceuta President Juan Jesus Vivas.
Xinhua also reported that Spain declared a “situation of national security interest” in Ceuta until the end of the year and established a unified command to coordinate the response to the migration crisis.
France 24 reported that the Council of Ministers approved the two draft laws on August 25 amid the arrival of between 70,000 and 80,000 people from Morocco at the end of July, with several thousand still in the autonomous city.
Screening, triage, and timelines
Caliber.Az reported that under the proposed legislation migrants would undergo a screening procedure to determine whether they should be returned, with the procedure lasting 72 hours in Spain compared with seven days under European rules.
Euronews said the European legislation aims to make it easier to reject asylum requests and accelerate returns, and noted that Spain is expected to present a draft bill as it struggles to contain the political fallout of the Ceuta crisis.
RTVE.es described the new asylum law as streamlining asylum processing with a “guarantee-driven” approach, while also saying it “in no way creates the non-processing of any international protection file.”
RTVE.es further said the future asylum law distinguishes between an “ordinary merits procedure” and an “accelerated” one resolved within a maximum period of three months, and it set a maximum resolution period of 12 weeks for the border procedure.
Diari ARA said Marlaska linked the reforms to adapting Spanish legislation to the European Pact on Migration and Asylum, and described a triage process that Spanish law requires within 72 hours, extendable only by judicial decision.
Returns, command, and politics
El País reported that the Council of Ministers declared “for the first time in history” the situation of “national security interest in Ceuta,” and said it formalized the creation of a single command to manage the crisis affecting Ceuta since the mass entry by swimming of around 80,000 migrants on July 30 and 31.
“for the first time in history” the situation of “national security interest in Ceuta”
AOL.co.uk said Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez convened an extraordinary meeting of the National Security Council at Madrid’s Moncloa Palace to assess the situation and coordinate the government’s response, with Ceuta described as “very far” from returning to normal 25 days after the crisis began.
El País quoted Grande-Marlaska saying, “The objective is to align Spanish legislation with the European pact on migration and asylum,” and described the reform as tightening and speeding up procedures to deny asylum and begin steps toward possible expulsion.
Euronews said around 5,000 people remain in the Spanish enclave, including an estimated 2,000 minors, and it reported that an attempt to transfer minors to mainland Spain through an emergency decree has stalled.
France 24 reported that the executive strengthened emergency control with a single command led by the Minister of Territorial Policy, Ángel Víctor Torres, and said the reforms aimed to combine more effective border management with guarantees for those seeking international protection.