Hundreds of people have gathered this Wednesday in front of the European Parliament headquarters in Brussels to show their support for Ceuta, coinciding with the festive day of the autonomous city. The concentration, promoted by PP and Vox, has served to convey their support to the Ceuta people a little over a month after the entry of at least 72,000 migrants from Morocco.
The protest took place on the steps leading to the Eurochamber, in Luxembourg Square, and gathered MEPs, parliamentary assistants, and staff from both parties, as well as several Ceutí residents living in Brussels who approached to claim that "Ceuta is Spain" and that the migration crisis will not fracture the citizenship of the city.
During the event, slogans such as "Ceuta is not for sale, Ceuta is defended" and "Long live Spain and Long live Ceuta" were chanted, while flags of Spain, Ceuta, and the European Union were waved. Banners with slogans such as "Ceuta defends itself," "no to the invasion," or "Marlaska traitor" were also displayed.
Although they differ in some of the proposed measures, PP and Vox have agreed on demanding a firmer involvement from European institutions, the return of migrants who remain irregularly in Ceuta, and holding the government of Pedro Sánchez responsible for not having prevented the massive entry despite prior alerts from security forces.
PP's Criticism of the Government and Call for More European Support
The spokesperson for the European PP, Dolors Montserrat, emphasized before the media that "Ceuta is Spain, it is Europe, Ceuta is the southern border of Europe and Ceuta also needs the European response," demanding the "immediate return" of adults in irregular situations and the return of unaccompanied minors with their families.
Montserrat has maintained that since the beginning of the crisis, the European Union has put "all the instruments" at Spain's disposal to protect the border and facilitate the return of those in irregular situations, and has assured that "Europe has been, is with Ceuta and will continue to be with Ceuta."
In this line, she accused President Pedro Sánchez of knowing in advance, thanks to warnings from the National Police and the CNI, the risk of a massive entry on July 30 and of not having acted to prevent it. "They abandoned Ceuta to its fate and abandoned the fight for the territorial integrity of Spain," she stated.
Furthermore, he has indicated that "the European Commission is aware" of the report that attributes the massive entry of migrants in Ceuta on July 30 and 31 to the Moroccan Security Forces. For this reason, he has called for the resignation of Sánchez and his entire cabinet, as well as the calling of general elections. "We want Spanish citizens to vote and give our opinion at the polls," he emphasized.
Vox speaks of "hybrid war act" and demands sanctions against Morocco
The head of the Vox delegation in the European Parliament, Jorge Buxadé, has hardened the rhetoric against Morocco, describing the massive arrival of migrants in Ceuta as a "hybrid war act" promoted and "orchestrated" by Rabat to "attack the territorial integrity of Spain."
According to Buxadé, "Spain is today, it is the most dangerous, hardest, and most serious hour for Spain since the attempted coup in Catalonia in October 2017," referring to "the news and reports" known in recent hours that, in his opinion, "confirm" a "strict sense invasion" of Spanish territory.
The MEP has explained that he has conveyed this assessment in a letter to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen; to the High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas; and to the Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration, Magnus Brunner, requesting a formal condemnation of what Vox interprets as an "aggression" by Morocco against Spanish sovereignty.
In the letter, Buxadé demands to suspend "immediately" the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement between the EU and Morocco and the rest of the existing cooperation frameworks, as well as "halt any pending European payments" to Rabat. Likewise, he asks to stop granting visas to Moroccan citizens and to recommend to the member states "not to grant new residence or work permits" to nationals of that country.
Finally, he urges the European Commission to propose to the EU Council the imposition of sanctions against Morocco, arguing that if the bloc has acted against Russia for its offensive in Ukraine, it must also react to what Vox considers an attack against a member state. In this context, he has urged the PP to "rethink its" refusal to support Vox's initiative to "prosecute Mr. Sánchez and his government for treason," pending authorization from Congress, for the "evident act of treason against Spain that must be judged before" the Supreme Court.