The first vice president and minister of Economy, Trade and Business, Carlos Cuerpo, has demanded "loyalty" from Morocco and has defended the package of 309 million euros allocated to Ceuta, emphasizing that the citizens of Ceuta "need to have a horizon of hope."
In an interview broadcast this Saturday on the program 'Informe Semanal', Cuerpo has recalled that "immigration and security is a top priority element of domestic policy in all countries of the European Union (EU), and Ceuta and Melilla must be incorporated into all mechanisms related to security, with border reinforcement... and then, of course, collaboration with Morocco, a collaboration that must be loyal, and that loyalty must be demanded."
The economic official has taken the opportunity to send a message of "responsibility to all those who have a role in resolving this crisis," warning that "fear is very difficult to combat, and it is true that it can be fueled by false or self-serving discourse."
309 million to equalize conditions in Ceuta with the peninsula
Referring to the royal decree-law of urgent social and economic measures in support of Ceuta, which mobilizes 309 million, Cuerpo has detailed that these actions "aim to go where they have observed that there are short-term needs to advance in resolving the crisis that the citizens of Ceuta are experiencing."
He indicated that the plan covers "from the area of security, of course, to the area of strengthening public services... they need to have a horizon of hope and know that we are going to put everything on the table so that this does not happen again."
In this line, he emphasized that "this translates to Ceuta being Spain at the border, not the border of Spain, and that the conditions, public services, the type of activity, that is, the reality of living in Ceuta, should be exactly the same as that of those who live on the peninsula or that of any European citizen, because Ceuta or Spain is still part, after all, of the EU."
Grandchildren's Law, Sánchez's succession, and Budgets
About the law of grandchildren and the precautionary measures issued by the Supreme Court, the minister has stated that "he hopes that the ruling arrives as soon as possible," since "above all because there are hundreds of thousands of people entitled to vote and who right now could not do so in case of elections." He has also emphasized "the leap that is made from the argument of the increase in the electoral roll to the illegal element or manipulation of the election results, taking into account that the result of the foreign vote in the last elections, in 2023, was favorable to the Popular Party."
Questioned by those who place him as a possible successor to Pedro Sánchez, Cuerpo has defined himself as "a team player." "And that is what I dedicate myself to, to contribute all my effort and everything I can to make things go better and to be able to carry forward this agenda of progress, and there will be 'shocks' and there will be crises, but in this case we need someone to lead that project, he has been doing it for eight years and of course we are going to support him," he has stated.
In the budgetary aspect, he has announced that "they are going to present the budgets for the year 2027." According to him, "let's hope that in the coming weeks the next point takes place, which is that discussion of the Government, in this case with the Minister of Finance at the helm, with all the groups to try to finalize the figures not only to present the budgets but also to have prospects of approving them because that is what we want."
European funds and Recovery Plan
Regarding the 'Next Generation' European funds, Cuerpo has indicated that the assessment is being "positive, which should lead to the seventh and final disbursement, which would unlock around 26 billion that remain pending from the Recovery Plan, adding transfers and also loans."
He has concluded by warning that "now we have to ensure that once it is finished, this does not stop here and that we are able to maintain that momentum."