The Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, sent this Thursday a letter to the President of the Senate, Pedro Rollán, in which she notifies him that she will finally not attend next week the Defense Commission of the Upper House to address the migratory crisis of Ceuta, as claimed by the PP, considering that she does not have "sufficient" time to prepare her intervention.
In the letter, which Europa Press has accessed, Robles rejects the request for appearance in the coming days, although she conveys her "full willingness" to attend the Defense Commission when the ordinary session period resumes.
The Executive had initially advanced that the ministers called by the PP to the Senate to explain the situation in Ceuta would not attend, as they had already requested to appear in Congress at the end of the month.
Despite this, the 'popular' later assured that they had agreed with Robles to postpone the appearance of the Minister of Defense to August 18, in replacement of the date scheduled for this Thursday, a point that Moncloa avoided confirming at all times.
Finally, Robles has chosen to formally inform Rollán that she will not attend the Defense Commission next week and proposes to set a new date starting in September, coinciding with the start of the new parliamentary session.
After her visit to Ceuta
The letter sent to the President of the Senate arrives a day after the minister's trip to Ceuta this Wednesday, where she met with the president of the autonomous city, Juan Vivas, after the massive entry of migrants recorded in recent days.
"After my intense visit yesterday to Ceuta and the meetings held with the Armed Forces deployed (...) I understand from the responsibility, that for a detailed appearance in the Senate, out of respect for that Chamber, it is necessary for me to have more time to prepare it with a minimum of rigor and detail," Robles states in her writing.
The minister insists on her refusal to appear next week in order to "be precise and exhaustive" in her presentation and to have "sufficient" time to prepare it.
Background with Marlaska and the Interior Commission
This Wednesday, the appearance of the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, was also called, who ultimately did not show up, which led the PP to maintain the extraordinary session of the Interior Commission with the seat of the appearing party empty.
On that occasion, the 'popular' warned Marlaska of possible "legal and political" consequences for not attending the extraordinary commission in which he was to report on the situation in Ceuta.
It remains to be seen whether the PP decides to also hold the extraordinary session scheduled for next Tuesday in the Defense Commission and reproduce the same gesture that it already staged in the Interior Commission.