The Government recovers the initiative in Ceuta with the port camp and more European support against the PP's offensive

The Government closed on Thursday with more room to act in Ceuta. The Audiencia Nacional lifted the brake on the port camp, the European Commission confirmed its financial and operational support and José Manuel Albares opened a path of understanding with the presidents of the two autonomous cities. Alberto Núñez Feijóo's response was to redouble his external offensive against Pedro Sánchez and turn European institutions into an extension of the Spanish political struggle.

The main advance came from the courts. The Audiencia Nacional rejected the request of the Unified Police Union to urgently suspend the installation of tents on the Poniente dock. The Ministry of Transport will be able to temporarily use 16,000 square meters of the port area and reactivate the planned operation to transfer some 1,800 people who remain in much more precarious settlements.

The judicial resolution corrects the halt agreed just one day before, when the magistrates requested all the operation's documentation from the Ministry of Transport. After examining it, the Chamber concluded that there was no justification for maintaining the immediate suspension. The ministerial order also has a favorable report from Puertos del Estado and obliges the Interior Ministry to provide the necessary means to reinforce security.

The procedure remains open and the Audiencia may later study an ordinary precautionary measure, after hearing the Ministry. The Government celebrated the speed of the decision and defended that the chosen lands meet better conditions to attend to migrants, guarantee police work and recover public spaces occupied during recent weeks.

More than 423 million and a coordinated response with Europe

The unblocking of the camp came a day after Congress validated the 309 million package approved by the Executive for Ceuta. The initiative received the support of the PP and the exclusive rejection of the far-right Vox. It includes 118 million for humanitarian aid, 90 million for security, 80 million to support the economy and employment, and another 21 million for the city's essential services.

To this investment are added the 114.7 million in emergency aid granted by the European Commission. Between both items, the economic response mobilized exceeds 423 million euros.

Fernando Grande-Marlaska and Elma Saiz discussed its application this Thursday with the European Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration, Magnus Brunner. The Minister of Interior requested legislative changes to accelerate return and international protection procedures when exceptional crises, such as the massive entry at the end of July, occur.

The approach connects with the new framework for responding to migratory emergencies announced by Ursula von der Leyen. The Executive defends that Spain has already returned more than 90% of the people who entered Ceuta during the first hours of the crisis, a proportion that the Interior considers unprecedented in the European Union.

Community funding will allow for the reinforcement of the Benzú and El Tarajal breakwaters and the construction of two new temporary reception centers, one in Ceuta and one in Melilla, with a total of 1,600 places. Frontex has extended Operation Minerva until December and Europol has deployed a representative specialized in migrant trafficking in the city to monitor social networks and prosecute organizations that promoted irregular entries.

Marlaska also denied before Brunner that migrant movements are occurring from Ceuta to the Peninsula and asked the Commission to deny that possibility among European partners. The Government intends to prevent this argument, used by several conservative parties on the continent, from ultimately causing new restrictions within the Schengen area.

The European strategy added another political move. Albares spoke with Juan Jesús Vivas and Juan José Imbroda before formally presenting the package in Brussels to reinforce the community integration of Ceuta and Melilla. The minister found "harmony" in both presidents, both from the PP, despite the clashes maintained in recent weeks.

Foreign Affairs wants the autonomous cities to have a permanent presence in the Committee of the Regions, complete their entry into the Customs Union respecting their fiscal particularities, and have a stable presence of Frontex. The plan adds specific funding due to their geographical location and the pressure on the European southern border.

The rapprochement with Vivas offers an opportunity to reduce institutional tension after his reproaches to Sánchez. The most delicate disagreement remains focused on minors. The Ministry of Youth and Childhood sent a proposal on August 28 to transfer 500 vulnerable children and adolescents to the Peninsula, with expenses covered by the State and Ceuta maintaining their legal guardianship. The city still has to authorize the operation.

The Government dealt with two other fronts on Thursday. Minister Mónica García denied that Ceuta's hospital was collapsed, placed its occupancy at around 53% and assured that only 1.8% of migrants had required admission. Moncloa also announced an investigation into reports of assaults and humiliations attributed to some soldiers deployed in the city, while Defense transferred two injured soldiers to Gómez Ulla after being attacked.

Feijóo moves the clash to the European stage

While the ministers negotiated returns, funding and border protection with Brunner, Feijóo met with the same commissioner in Congress. The leader of the PP again described what happened as an attack against Spanish territorial integrity and demanded the immediate return of all people who entered irregularly, always within national and European legislation.

“Neither three months as he told the Spanish people nor six as he said in Europe. This has to be resolved immediately,” Feijóo maintained. He also asked the European Union to pressure Morocco to accept returns and accused the Executive of failing in all phases of the crisis. “They don't give a single one. Neither before nor during nor after the invasion,” he affirmed, a few hours before the National Court allowed the camp that it had considered paralyzed to go ahead.

The offensive had its main showcase in Strasbourg. The European Parliament approved a resolution promoted by the European People's Party by 339 votes in favor, 225 against and 16 abstentions. The text received the support of the Renew liberals and the radical right and far-right groups, while social democrats, greens and the left voted against.

The resolution, which lacks binding effects, uses the terms “invasion” and “hybrid war,” criticizes the Spanish Government's management, and attributes a supposed pull effect to the extraordinary regularization. It also demands that Morocco respect Spanish sovereignty, fulfill its border control obligations, and cooperate in the readmission of those who lack the right to remain in community territory.

The PP thus managed to increase political pressure on Sánchez, although several points of the document coincide with measures that the Executive is already promoting. The resolution calls for the use of the 114.7 million granted by Brussels, a greater presence of European agencies, and more agile procedures for returns, the same issues discussed hours later by Marlaska, Saiz, and Brunner.

The deepest difference remains in the attention to minors. Feijóo maintains his rejection of their temporary transfer to the Peninsula, a position shared with Vox extremists that conditions Vivas's ability to accept the Government's proposal. The 500 places offered by the Ministry of Youth and Childhood remain ready awaiting authorization from Ceuta.