The businesses in Ceuta reopen, "although with caution," according to the Confederation of Employers.

The Government Delegation in Ceuta does not have its own “red button,” but acts as the political-territorial body of the Government that raises requests and activates coordination mechanisms already provided for in state regulations. Generally, security reinforcements in migratory crises are channeled to the Ministry of the Interior (State Secretariat for Security), supported by civil protection instruments and, in more severe scenarios, by the National Security System. All this is framed within the competences of the General State Administration regulated by Law 40/2015, Organic Law 2/1986, Law 17/2015, and Law 36/2015, among others.

1. Competence framework of the Government Delegation

Law 40/2015 systematizes the peripheral State Administration and defines Government Delegates as management bodies that exercise, within their territorial scope, competencies of direction and coordination, information on Government action, and coordination with other administrations. In terms of security:

• Organic Law 2/1986 places the maintenance of public security under the Government's dependency and articulates coordination between the Civil Guard and National Police, which are the forces operating at borders, coasts, and control of entry and exit from the territory.
• Organic Law 4/2015 regulates the protection of citizen security, including the powers of the governmental authority in matters of public order.

In Ceuta, the Government Delegate is also a key figure in coordination with the Autonomous City (local authorities) and with other state departments present at the border, ports, and reception centers.

2. Ordinary management: request for police reinforcements

As long as the situation is under ordinary management (although strained), reinforcements are articulated within the chain of command of the Ministry of the Interior:

• The Government Delegate submits situation reports and formal requests to the State Secretariat for Security, supported by the structures of the Directorate General of Police (regulated by Order INT/859/2023 and its amendment by Order INT/985/2023), and the Civil Guard (Personnel Law: Law 29/2014).
• Strategic coordination of the Security Forces and Corps is carried out within the framework of Order INT/1251/2004, which creates the Executive Committee for Unified Command, dependent on the Interior Ministry.

In parallel, the Delegation can activate or reinforce territorial coordination bodies (Security Boards, operational committees) and adjust deployments with the National Police and Civil Guard headquarters in the city.

3. When the crisis exceeds ordinary management: civil protection

If migratory pressure leads to an emergency that severely affects the safety of people or the provision of essential services (reception centers, critical infrastructures, etc.), Law 17/2015 of the National Civil Protection System and the Basic Civil Protection Standard approved by Royal Decree 524/2023 come into play. In this framework:

• The Government Delegate can request the activation of civil protection plans at the state level (for example, the State General Emergency Civil Protection Plan approved by the Council of Ministers in 2020) when the emergency has national interest.
• The request for additional resources (including the Military Emergency Unit, regulated by Royal Decree 1097/2011) is processed through the Directorate General of Civil Protection and Emergencies and the Ministry of the Interior.

Law 17/2015 emphasizes inter-administrative cooperation and the principle of interterritorial solidarity, so resource requests from Ceuta may involve mobilization of means from other autonomous communities or from the General State Administration (state plans published, among others, in Resolution of 2013, 2010, 2011, etc.).

4. National Security scenario

When the migratory crisis has a direct impact on National Security, Law 36/2015 articulates a higher level of management:

• The Government Delegate in Ceuta is expressly a competent body in National Security matters (article listing Government Delegates as such).
• They can channel information and proposals to the National Security Council, which is directed by the President of the Government and coordinates crisis management.
• Ceuta and Melilla participate through the Sectoral Conference for National Security Affairs (Law 36/2015 provides for representatives of both cities in this body) and through specialized committees such as immigration.

The Specialized Immigration Committee is regulated by Order PRA/31/2018, while the Coordination Authority for irregular immigration in the Strait and Alboran Sea is reinforced by the Agreement published by Order PCI/44/2019 and Order PCI/121/2019. The Government Delegation in Ceuta is functionally integrated into these coordination devices when the crisis affects the Strait area.

5. Types of communications and documentation

Practically, the Government Delegation usually channels:

• Situation reports on irregular entries, resource saturation, and risks to citizen security, which support requests for police or material reinforcement.
• Formal requests for resources addressed to the State Secretariat for Security and, in emergencies, to the Directorate General of Civil Protection and Emergencies, adjusted to the principles of necessity and proportionality established by Law 40/2015.
• Proposals for activation or escalation to civil protection or the National Security System when the crisis exceeds local capacities.

6. Other relevant regulations and decisions in the Ceuta environment

In the context of Ceuta, there are also notable regulations and decisions that, without defining the “specific procedure” for requesting reinforcements, delimit the legal framework of action: the Resolution of December 13, 2022 on partial closure of land entry and exit posts in Ceuta and Melilla; constitutional jurisprudence on the special regime of border rejection in STC 172/2020; cooperation instruments with the IOM in border management and return published in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2025 (2021, 2022, 2023, 2025 addendum, 2025), as well as royal decrees on subsidies and support to temporary immigrant stay centers (Royal Decree 882/2021, Royal Decree 767/2022).

The president of the Autonomous City of Ceuta, who according to the Statute also holds the position of Mayor, has in matters of citizen security a position of maximum political and administrative direction of the competences exercised by the City: local police, surveillance and protection of its own buildings and facilities, and execution of state civil protection legislation. Public security and border control remain exclusive competences of the State, exercised through the National Police and Civil Guard, but the president plays a key role of collaboration and coordination with these State Security Forces and Corps. His powers are mainly supported by the Statute of Autonomy of Ceuta and the Organic Law of Security Forces and Corps, within the framework of basic state legislation.

1. Institutional framework of the president of Ceuta

The Statute of Autonomy of Ceuta, approved by Organic Law 1/1995, establishes that the President of the city of Ceuta:

• Presides over the Assembly of Ceuta and the Government Council, whose activity he directs and coordinates.
• Holds the supreme representation of the City.
• Also holds the position of Mayor.

Additionally, the Statute provides that the city of Ceuta will exercise all competences that state legislation attributes to Town Councils and those currently exercised by Provincial Councils. Consequently, in matters of citizen security, the president concentrates the role that elsewhere is played by mayors and provincial presidents, always within the limits of state legislation.

2. Local police and local public order

Within the competence block of the Statute, the City is recognized:

• Competence over the surveillance and protection of its buildings and facilities.
• Competence in local police matters “under the terms established by the Law referred to in article 149.1.29 of the Constitution,” that is, within the framework of basic state legislation on Security Forces and Corps and local regime.

Organic Law 2/1986, on Security Forces and Corps, recalls in its preamble that maintenance of public security is an exclusive competence of the State, but that its maintenance corresponds both to the Government of the Nation and to Autonomous Communities and Local Corporations. It also emphasizes the principle of mutual cooperation and coordination among all Security Forces and Corps.

On this basis, the practical competences of the president in local police and local public order are, synthetically:

• Politically directing the Local Police of Ceuta through the Government Council and the competent ministries.
• Promoting the approval of organization and functioning rules of the local police and municipal security services.
• Guaranteeing the surveillance of buildings, facilities, and services owned by the City.

3. Civil protection and emergency management

The Statute assigns to the city of Ceuta the execution of State legislation on civil protection, including “administrative, inspection, and sanction powers, as well as regulatory normative power for the organization of the corresponding services.” This places the president as the highest political authority of the City's civil protection.

Consequently, he is responsible for:

• Promoting the organization of the civil protection and emergency system of the City (municipal plans, intervention services, etc.).
• Directing, through the Government Council, the planning and coordination of local means in ordinary emergencies.
• Collaborating with the General State Administration in the application of state civil protection and emergency plans affecting Ceuta, according to the state civil protection law and approved state plans, such as the State General Emergency Plan or specific plans.

4. Coordination with the State and limitations

The Statute itself foresees that, between the City and the State Administration (through the Government Delegate), joint bodies may be established to develop and control the execution of plans and programs of works and services, without prejudice to the competences of each Administration. In the citizen security field, this translates into:

• Participation of the president in coordination bodies with the Government Delegation and with the State Security Forces and Corps deployed in Ceuta.
• Collaboration within the general framework of Law 36/2015, on National Security and Organic Law 4/2015, on citizen security protection, which consolidate the State's role as the ultimate guarantor of security, while articulating the participation of territorial Administrations.

The limits are clear: the president does not direct nor can give orders to the National Police or Civil Guard, nor assumes exclusive state competences such as border control, immigration, ports, coasts, or arms and explosives regulation. His scope focuses on proximity security (local police, municipal public order, City buildings and services) and executive management of civil protection, always in coordination with the State.

In Spain, there is no single “migratory crisis law” nor a single regulation that protects commerce in exceptional situations, but several legal pillars combined according to the type of emergency. In migration, the Foreigner Law, the Asylum Law, and the reception system regulation stand out, complemented by specific rules for temporary protection (such as those related to Ukraine). In the economic and commercial field, the general framework is the Organic Law on states of alarm, exception, and siege, on which packages of royal decree-laws for recent crises (COVID‑19, Ukraine war, energy crisis) have been based. Below are the key pieces summarized.

1. Management of migratory crises and international protection

The core of foreigner regulation is Organic Law 4/2000, on the rights and freedoms of foreigners in Spain and their social integration, deeply reformed by Organic Law 2/2009 (foreigner reform). This law defines immigration policy, principles of flow management, integration, and fight against irregular immigration, as well as coordination among Administrations. It is the basic support on which many measures for intense arrivals of migrants are articulated.

In asylum matters, the central regulation is Law 12/2009, of October 30, regulating the right of asylum and subsidiary protection (Asylum Law). It develops article 13.4 of the Constitution, incorporates the Common European Asylum System, and regulates:

• Right of asylum and subsidiary protection, with requirements for recognition of refugee status or international protection beneficiary.
• Reasons for persecution, causes of exclusion and cessation, and processing procedures.
• Spain's obligations in resettlement and international cooperation.

On this basis, a specific reception system has been created. Royal Decree 220/2022, approving the Regulation of the reception system in international protection matters (reception regulation), organizes the network of state centers and resources managed by social entities and expressly foresees exceptional resources “for attention to urgent needs and vulnerability circumstances.” Subsequent orders (for example Order ISM/922/2023) develop the disciplinary regime and system management in contexts of pressure on the reception network.

Regarding mass influx linked to conflicts, the response has been articulated through European decisions and internal rules for temporary protection of people displaced by the war in Ukraine. Order PCM/169/2022 develops the procedure for recognition of temporary protection, and successive Interior Ministry orders (such as INT/169/2024 or INT/96/2026) extend the validity of foreigner identity cards of beneficiaries.

In the field of borders and control, Organic Law 4/2015, on citizen security protection (Citizen Security Law) is relevant, among other reasons, for its provision on the “special regime of border rejection” for Ceuta and Melilla, interpreted by the Constitutional Court in STC 172/2020.

2. Protection of commerce and economic activity in exceptional situations

The constitutional framework for exceptional situations is collected in Organic Law 4/1981, on states of alarm, exception, and siege (LO 4/1981). It allows declaring the state of alarm in, among other cases, “health crises” and “shortages of essential products,” and authorizes measures such as:

• Limiting movement of people and vehicles.
• Seizing goods and imposing mandatory personal services.
• Intervening and temporarily occupying industries, operations, or premises.
• Limiting or rationing essential services and goods and ensuring market supply.

These powers are the legal basis to temporarily intervene in supply chains and guarantee the essential functioning of economic and commercial activity.

On this architecture, broad packages of royal decree-laws have been built in recent crises that, without being specific to retail “commerce,” protect the business fabric, self-employed workers, and consumers. During the pandemic, notable ones were:

• Royal Decree-law 8/2020, on urgent extraordinary measures against the economic and social impact of COVID‑19 (ICO lines, moratoriums, support for self-employed, etc.).
• Royal Decree-law 11/2020, on complementary measures in social and economic fields.
• Royal Decree-law 15/2020, supporting the economy and employment, with measures on premises rentals, business liquidity, and taxation.
• Royal Decree-law 35/2020, supporting the tourism, hospitality, and commerce sectors and in tax matters.

In the energy crisis and Ukraine war, the pattern repeats through Royal Decree-law 6/2022 (National Plan to respond to the economic and social consequences of the war in Ukraine) and its extensions and adjustments, such as Royal Decree-law 11/2022 and Royal Decree-law 20/2022, which combine temporary reductions of energy taxes, direct aid to affected sectors, guarantee lines, and reinforced protection of vulnerable consumers.

In parallel, structural market and consumer regulations set the ordinary framework on which exceptional measures are inserted. Among them, Law 15/2007, on Defense of Competition (Competition Law), the General Law for the Defense of Consumers and Users, consolidated text approved by Royal Legislative Decree 1/2007, and its reinforcement against vulnerability contexts through Law 4/2022 on protection of consumers in social and economic vulnerability situations.