The Minister of Health, Mónica García, and the Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Elma Saiz, have requested to appear before the Congress of Deputies on August 27 and 28, respectively, with the aim of informing about the situation in Ceuta after the migration crisis registered on July 30. This initiative has also been joined by the Minister of Youth and Childhood, Sira Rego.
Sources from the ministries of Health and Inclusion have indicated that this Monday the request for both officials to attend the corresponding committees has been formalized in the Lower House. Thus, García will intervene before the Health Commission, while Saiz will do so before the Commission on Labor, Social Economy, Inclusion, Social Security and Migration.
For her part, the head of Youth and Childhood has also submitted the request to provide explanations "in order to guarantee the care and protection of the rights of unaccompanied children and adolescents who are in the Autonomous City of Ceuta," according to sources from her department, although at the moment the date of her appearance has not been specified.
Response to the demand from the PP
These appearances are registered a few hours after the Popular Party demanded the presence of the three ministers in Congress to detail the actions taken and justify their absence over the last 16 days.
The 'populars' have requested to convene the Permanent Deputation of the Congress of Deputies --the only body that remains operational during extraordinary periods-- so that García, Saiz, and Rego can provide explanations about the situation in Ceuta in the scope of their respective departments.
The PP wants clarifications on issues ranging from the "collapse" of healthcare that the autonomous city is suffering to the consequences of the decisions made in migration policy --including the extraordinary regularization-- as well as the status of underage migrants who remain in Spanish territory.
This Monday, Mónica García has maintained that the central Government has indeed been present in Ceuta during the migration crisis, in response to the president of the autonomous city, Juan Vivas, who has criticized the "passivity" of the Executive and has called to "analyze and investigate" the possible responsibilities of Morocco in what happened.
The Minister of Health also rejected this Sunday that Ceuta is in a situation of "health collapse," although she acknowledged "especially tense" areas, and raised to 5,800 the number of migrants attended to in the autonomous city since the beginning of the migration crisis.
Calendar of other appearances of the Government
These interventions are added to those already planned by other members of the Executive. Last Friday, the Government registered in Congress the requests for appearances, in extraordinary period and at their own request, of Ministers Fernando Grande-Marlaska, José Manuel Albares, Margarita Robles, and Félix Bolaños to provide explanations about the migration crisis in which more than 72,000 irregular migrants accessed from Morocco.
The Minister of Defense is scheduled to attend the Chamber on Tuesday, August 25; the Minister of the Presidency, Justice, and Relations with the Cortes will appear on Thursday the 27th, coinciding with the intervention of the Minister of Health; and the heads of Interior and Foreign Affairs will do so on Friday the 28th, the same day as Elma Saiz, each before the corresponding committee.