The European Commission is forced to delay aid to Ceuta of more than 100 million euros, despite it being an “emergency” due to the Government’s delay in submitting the application and having done so with significant gaps. This is what community sources familiar with the matter have conveyed to this newspaper. In Ursula von der Leyen’s team there is concern about the risk that the population of Ceuta and Spain in general believe that the European Commission is not fully committed to this crisis, and its spokespeople in Brussels reiterate day after day their utmost willingness to do more.
“We have offered help from day one,” reiterated the Commission’s Interior and Migration spokesperson this Thursday, Markus Lammert. However, Brussels did not receive a formal request from the Spanish Government until the 24th, that is, 26 days after the outbreak of the crisis. Neither Brussels nor the Spanish Executive have detailed total figures, although the consulted sources assure that the European Commission is in a position to grant more than 100 million. The Minister of Migrations, Elma Saiz, has mentioned 44.5 million to finance reception means and the Interior Minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, another 32 million for border protection equipment, but the Executive has not disclosed a total amount.
Saiz stated in Congress that the Government “requested aid from the first moment,” but the European Commission clarifies that to request money a series of processes must be completed and the application was not formalized until the 24th. It took time because, according to Saiz, there was first “a joint work and permanent technical dialogue with the European Commission necessary for the request to be formalized with all guarantees.”
However, the request did not arrive with the promised rigor and the European Commission has had to withhold the funds for at least a few more days, although its initial intention was to have them already approved. The aforementioned community spokesperson explained the situation as follows: “We are progressing in the evaluation of these requests as a priority matter. However, for our final evaluation, we still have some important open questions that must first be answered by the Spanish authorities.”
Community sources clarify that since these are funds from European taxpayers, the Commission is obliged to have a clear explanation of the destination of the money and that it does not correspond to previously planned allocations. Part of the emergency mechanisms requested by Spain are the so-called EMAs, which are at the Commission’s disposal to distribute to countries that have suffered unforeseen migratory crises.
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The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, appeared cold in his appearance before the Congress of Deputies when referring to the European Commission chaired by Ursula von der Leyen and assured, in a new turn, that he will promote greater European connection with Ceuta. In his opinion, it is necessary “that Brussels understands that these territories are not a border problem it must endure.”
For this, he now requests, in contrast to the past, “a permanent presence of Frontex in the port and on the breakwater”, referring to the European border protection agency, which has been disregarded until now. Also: “We will request Europol to create a specific mission.”
At the same time, he promised to promote Ceuta’s integration into the European Customs Union, something denied since the 1986 accession. This requires authorization from the 27 partners and is an economic boost to Ceuta, if accompanied by, among other measures, the maintenance of a favorable tax regime.
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