The president of the autonomous city of Ceuta, Juan Jesús Vivas, made it clear this Thursday in the European Parliament that, for him, what happened on July 30 and 31 “is not a typical migration crisis.” “It is an episode through which our integrity has been put in check: That of Ceuta, that of Spain, that of Europe. […] Our security is in the hands of a third country, Morocco, which does not recognize our sovereignty,” said the veteran leader in an extraordinary session of the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, which met via videoconference. In that forum, the Ceutan also highlighted that the city has not yet returned to normal and needs reinforcements to resolve, among other things, “the collapse of migrant reception centers.”
The session held this Thursday afternoon was extraordinary, convened by the Committee’s president, the Spanish Popular Party member Javier Zarzalejos. He, like other conservative MEPs, regretted that the Interior Minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, and the Minister of Social Security and Migration, Elma Saiz, did not appear. Both were invited to the session, although their presence is not mandatory. The Interior Commissioner, Magnus Brunner, was present and recalled that “the situation in Ceuta is, above all, the responsibility of the Spanish authorities, who are in charge of managing the reception system.”
Vivas began his intervention before the MEPs by emphasizing that it is “one of the most difficult moments in the recent history of the city.” He described what happened as an “invasion.” “This characterization coincides with that given by the President of the Government of Spain, who on the same Friday stated that we were facing an attack, a violation of territorial integrity,” he continued after illustrating that the 80,000 people who entered Ceuta between last Thursday and Friday were a number “equivalent to the entire population of Ceuta.” “It is as if 50 million people entered Spain,” he compared at another point.
The president of Ceuta also demanded the “immediate expulsion” of irregular migrants who crossed the border and are still in the autonomous city. According to the numbers he provided in Parliament, there would be between 3,000 and 5,000 people. “The fact that we still do not know the figures at this time of the people who remain in the city highlights the precariousness of the means with which action is still being taken,” he explained before the MEPs.
To this, Brunner, the Austrian commissioner, added: “We hope that the Spanish authorities, in collaboration with the Moroccan authorities, will fulfill their commitment to ensure that the measures they take in response to the situation do not have repercussions in the Schengen area. This reflects the opinions expressed by the Member States at the informal Justice and Home Affairs meeting held on Tuesday. The Commission is in close contact with the Spanish authorities to quickly assess their needs and provide support when necessary.”
