The autonomous city of Ceuta will become part of the Committee of the Regions of the European Union from this Monday, thereby obtaining a permanent seat in this Community body. This was announced this Sunday by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, during a public event of the PSOE held in Ponferrada (León).
Albares explained that the central Executive is "moving forward a European package" that includes the stable incorporation of Ceuta into the European Committee of the Regions, whose final approval is expected for this Monday.
With this decision, the president of Ceuta, Juan Vivas, will become a full member of the Spanish delegation to the Committee of the Regions and will have the possibility of speaking for the first time at the next plenary session, scheduled for 2 and 3 December. In this way, the autonomous city will have its own voice in this consultative body of the EU, in which the regional and local entities of the Member States are represented.
Vivas’s arrival at the Committee will be possible thanks to the decision of the president of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP), María José García-Pelayo, who last September communicated her resignation from her position in that body in order to facilitate the entry of the president of Ceuta. The purpose of this changeover, as García-Pelayo stated, is for Vivas to "make himself heard" and be able to present the reality of Ceuta to European institutions.