Fernando Grande-Marlaska has denied before his European colleagues that Morocco had any kind of responsibility in the migration crisis that Spain has suffered. That Rabat has never challenged Madrid or Spanish sovereignty at any time. And that behind the more than 70,000 people who crossed the Spanish border in Ceuta there are only illegal mafias, misinformation, and a dangerous use of social networks. The Interior Minister, therefore, has maintained and defended in Brussels the official line of the Government to avoid at all times blaming the Moroccan Executive.
“Minister Grande-Marlaska has repeated today the important role that Morocco has had to ensure that the situation in Ceuta is under control,” explained this Tuesday the Commissioner for Interior and Migration, Magnus Brunner, at the press conference he held in Brussels. Faced with repeated questions about Morocco’s role, the Austrian official avoided going deeper into this issue, reiterated the words of the Spanish Interior Minister, and only at the end pointed out that the situation is being investigated and that right now he cannot give more details. But little more.
He did point more directly to the human traffickers, the “instrumentalization” that has been carried out of the immigrants, and the misinformation on social networks. “We know there was interference from traffickers and human smugglers in the media. On social networks, there was misinformation,” Brunner specified at that same press conference held after the meeting of the Interior Ministers of the 27.
Brunner’s words contrast somewhat with the letter that the Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, sent this Monday to the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, in which there was a clearer indication towards Morocco. And the tone of the Interior Ministers’ meeting also contrasts with the letter that more than 20 countries sent last week to the Commission. The tension, ultimately, has eased, but the concern, especially from countries like Italy, remains very high.
At that same ministers’ meeting, Marlaska also made an effort to assure that the Schengen area “was never compromised.” “The minister confirmed that the situation is under control, that no one has passed into mainland Spanish territory,” Brunner continued.
“For now, it is clear that Europe has passed the test. These people have not been able to access the Schengen area and border security has been resolved quickly. Now the key for the European Union is to act united and also draw the correct conclusions from these events,” continued the commissioner, who also dissociated the massive regularization carried out by Sánchez’s Government from this migration crisis and stated that it is a matter that was not discussed at the Interior Ministers’ meeting.
“There have been no criticisms because we do not see a direct link between regularizations and the incidents in Ceuta. But in this discussion about regularization, I always say it is clear that it is not a good sign for the rest of Europe. I understand that it is the competence of the Member States and Spain has done it because it mainly concerns Latin Americans who share the same language, the same culture. But it is not a good sign for the rest of Europe,” Brunner emphasized, thus underlining his usual argument on this issue.
But not everyone thinks the same. And as a sign of that nervousness and even anger that exists in Italy, the words of Vice President Antonio Tajani this very Tuesday. “Spain is regularizing 500,000 undocumented foreigners and is doing so without having shared this decision with any of its European partners and this is not right. Now we know there are even a million regularization requests, and who prevents these people from moving freely within the Schengen area?”
