The Spanish Government arrived at the meeting of Interior Ministers of the Twenty-Seven with the intention of not opening new fronts in the community bloc. However, it has distanced itself from the rest of the capitals by positioning itself against, as the only country, the final adoption of the European Union Return Regulation. Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska has defended before his counterparts that the text raises doubts "about the legality and proportionality of certain measures."
In the context of the meeting, held this Thursday in Luxembourg, Moncloa has sent a statement justifying its rejection of the proposal presented to all Member States. Marlaska believes that the current regulation renounces the establishment of a truly European system and also questions "the lack of proportionality of certain measures."
The Spanish Government has taken the opportunity to criticize that the events in Ceuta "highlight that European legislation lacks instruments that allow for effective return in exceptional situations that deviate from the ordinary." In this way, the Executive links the migratory crisis experienced at the Spanish border with the need to review the operational capacities of the Union, although it considers that the legislative proposal on the table does not offer an adequate response.
Spain questions the European return model
Spain argues that, during the negotiation of the regulation, the initially included objective of mutually recognizing, when agreements are established with third countries, certain obligations based on a European Return Order has been discarded. "Instead of focusing efforts on the return of those people who do not have the right to remain in the entire Schengen area, new mechanisms for transferring people between Member States are being created," they affirm in the Ministry.
The Executive is addressing the design of the system proposed by the community proposal. In the face of a mechanism that allows for the coordinated articulation of returns across the European space, Moncloa considers that the text shifts part of the efforts towards transfer procedures between member states. The discrepancy places Spain in a unique position in the negotiation, questioning an initiative that seeks to strengthen the European return policy. The Government does not limit its objections to the proportionality of the proposed measures but also doubts that the regulation advances towards a common model that allows for more effective action against irregular migration.
The European People's Party seeks to deny entry or carry out returns without individual asylum procedures in the case of migrants "used in a hybrid attack."
In this way, the amendments introduced by their party, the CDU, stated in a resolution during the political convention of the European popular party. That is to say, they seek to be able to suspend asylum in crises like the one experienced last July. The issue raised the pressure on the European debate. While Spain demands tools to improve the management of external borders and returns without modifying the balance of the Pact, Germany proposes to expand the margin of action for states in situations considered as hybrid attacks. Diplomatic sources insist that this request is already regulated in national legislation and foresees what the automatic suspension of resources with third countries is. "The Migration and Asylum Pact achieves a balance between responsibility and solidarity," they defend in the Executive.
Moncloa warns of the legal insecurity of return centers
Similarly, Moncloa maintains "its enormous concern" about the return centers contemplated by the new legislation. In the opinion of the Spanish Administration, the text "would allow for the establishment of such centers through non-binding agreements, with content that causes legal insecurity and offers limited guarantees." The Executive questions, therefore, both the legal instrument provided to articulate these agreements and the guarantees that would accompany their application. The possibility of establishing return centers through agreements that are not binding constitutes one of the main points of friction for the Spanish delegation.
In parallel, the Spanish diplomatic team considers that the proposal does not sufficiently take into account "the direct impact that the conclusion of agreements of this nature may have on the credibility of the Union's foreign relations." "One must wonder whether the Union will allow the deprivation of liberty of individuals in an irregular administrative situation for periods longer than those applied to criminals convicted of serious offenses," continues the text prepared by the Spanish Government.
The declaration places guarantees and proportionality at the center of the Spanish objections. The Executive believes that the strengthening of the return policy should not translate into measures whose duration or conditions of application raise doubts from a legal point of view.
Marlaska defends Spanish management after the Ceuta crisis
Marlaska, who has refused to make statements to the press upon his arrival at the meeting, as is usual, has defended behind closed doors the "effectiveness in Spain's migration management." "The impact has been zero," he said about the Ceuta crisis. The minister took the opportunity of the meeting to claim the Spanish response to the events recorded at the border and demand greater involvement from the rest of the community partners. The Government's position thus combines the rejection of certain elements of the Return Regulation with the demand to strengthen cooperation mechanisms among member states.
Specifically, Marlaska has called on the Twenty-Seven to lend a hand on issues such as "operational, financial, and political solidarity" to address migration crises like the one that occurred at the Spanish border two months ago. The request recovers one of the main arguments that the Executive has conveyed to its partners since the beginning of the crisis: the need for the management of external borders not to fall exclusively on the countries directly affected by episodes of migratory pressure. "The lack of solidarity weakens and fragments the EU," the minister reproached, after, in the hours following the start of the crisis, up to 22 countries questioned Spanish migration policy.
The disagreement highlights the difficulties in reconciling national positions on a matter where the effectiveness of returns, legal guarantees, and the distribution of responsibilities among member states converge. Spain demands more instruments to respond to exceptional situations, but rejects that the new regulation is the appropriate way to achieve it.