Margarita Robles walks the streets of Ceuta while the Government's proposal to the Senate is distanced.

At this moment, the only initiatives clearly identified in the sources as parliamentary appearances linked to the migration crisis affecting Ceuta are registered in the Senate and are formally in process (that is, they appear as active initiatives in the XV Legislature), with no additional information in the consulted sources about whether they have already been held or if they have a set date. In the Congress of Deputies, specific searches for appearances on the migration crisis in Ceuta have not returned appearance initiatives, but rather written questions and other control initiatives. Therefore, as of today, it can only be stated with certainty that there are several requested appearances in the Senate related to Ceuta and immigration, while in the Congress there is no record, in the available sources, of a specific appearance regarding the massive entry of May 2021 or other subsequent episodes. No further procedural detail (dates of holding, archiving, or inclusion in the agenda) is available in the official records consulted.

Appearances in the Senate linked to the migration crisis in Ceuta

In the XV Legislature of the Senate, several appearances have been registered that directly address irregular immigration and explicitly mention the situation in Ceuta:

• Director of the National Security Department
  Appearance of the Director of the National Security Department of the Government Presidency Cabinet, Loreto Gutiérrez Hurtado, before the Joint Commission on National Security, "to report on the massive assaults on the Ceuta fence, organized by sub-Saharan criminal groups through social networks, and the threat these groups pose to Spain's national security."
  Legislature: XV. Requesting group: Mixed Parliamentary Group in the Senate. Chamber: Senate. Initiative number: (15)713/000400.
  Official record available on the Senate website: appearance record.
• Minister of the Interior
  Appearance of the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, before the Interior Commission, "to report on the measures the Government will take to guarantee the safety of Spaniards against the massive illegal immigration that Spain is suffering, especially the Canary Islands region and the City of Ceuta."
  Legislature: XV. Requesting group: Mixed Parliamentary Group in the Senate. Initiative number: (15)711/000325.
  More information in the initiative record.
• Minister of Foreign Affairs, EU and Cooperation
  Appearance of José Manuel Albares before the Foreign Affairs Commission, "to report on the migratory invasion of our country, especially the Canary Islands region and the City of Ceuta, and to explain the Government's position regarding the questioning of Spanish territorial integrity by the Kingdom of Morocco."
  Legislature: XV. Requesting group: Mixed Parliamentary Group in the Senate. Initiative number: (15)711/000323.
  Details in the appearance record.
• Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migrations
  Appearance of Minister Elma Saiz before the Inclusion, Social Security and Migrations Commission, "to explain the lines of action of her ministerial department regarding the crisis caused by the massive arrival of illegal immigrants, with special consideration of the very serious situation in the Canary Islands and Ceuta."
  Legislature: XV. Requesting group: Mixed Parliamentary Group in the Senate. Initiative number: (15)711/000324.
  Information in the official record.

In all these cases, the sources only allow confirming that the appearances have been registered and have an initiative number in the XV Legislature. No additional data is available on the internal status of the processing (whether the commission's Board has already set a date, if they have been included in a specific agenda, if they have been held, or if they have lapsed). Therefore, the most precise answer with the available information is that the appearances are formally in process, but their specific progress is not recorded in the consulted records.

Situation in the Congress of Deputies

Regarding the Congress, a specific search for appearances related to the migration crisis in Ceuta (including the May 2021 episode) in the XIII, XIV, and XV legislatures has not returned initiatives of the appearance type clearly identified in the available sources. There are written control initiatives linked to the same context, but not appearances per se.

Among those related initiatives, but which are not appearances, are for example:

• An initiative from the Vox Parliamentary Group about the "reasons the Government argues to speak of a new stage in the relationship with Morocco, when there is an exponential increase in illegal immigration arrivals to Ceuta and Melilla by land, as well as the reason why the 10,000 illegal immigrants who invaded the Spanish city of Ceuta in May 2021 have not been counted," registered with identifier 184/106504 (XIV Legislature), whose text was published on June 7, 2023, accessible in this Congress document.
• An initiative from the EH Bildu Parliamentary Group about the "protocols followed for managing arrivals and returns during May 17, 18, and 19, 2021, as well as the role of the Army and the Red Cross," with identifier 184/101266 (XIV Legislature), whose response was published on March 21, 2023, recorded in this Official Bulletin.

These initiatives show that the Congress has exercised political control over the management of the Ceuta crisis, but with the available information, specific appearances or their processing status cannot be listed, because "there is no relevant information that meets the specific request" for appearances in the consulted databases.

Conclusion

In summary, in the Upper Chamber there are several ongoing appearances related to Ceuta and immigration (Interior, Foreign Affairs, Inclusion, and National Security), all in the XV Legislature of the Senate, without additional public detail on whether they have already been held or scheduled. In the Lower Chamber, activity related to the migration crisis in Ceuta has mainly been conducted through written questions and other control instruments, without being able to identify in the consulted sources a list of specific appearances or their procedural status. No further information is available in the sources to specify concrete stages (pending date, held, or archived) of each appearance.

The Minister of Defense is simultaneously a member of the Government and the head of the department responsible for defense policy and military administration. Her functions are generally defined in Law 50/1997, of November 27, on the Government, and specifically in Organic Law 5/2005, of November 17, on National Defense. Together, she directs and executes defense and military policy, administratively commands the Armed Forces under the authority of the Prime Minister, and manages the human and material resources necessary for their mission. Additionally, she exercises regulatory authority within her scope, develops the decisions of the Council of Ministers, and assumes full political responsibility before the Cortes.

General framework as a member of the Government

Law 50/1997 regulates the legal regime of the Government and its members. The relevant excerpt states that:

• The Government "directs internal and external policy, civil and military administration, and the defense of the State. It exercises executive function and regulatory authority in accordance with the Constitution and laws," according to the article developing Article 97 of the Constitution, in the Government Law.
• The ministers, "as heads of their Departments, have competence and responsibility in the specific sphere of their action, and are responsible for:
  • "Developing the Government's action within their Department, in accordance with agreements adopted in the Council of Ministers or directives from the Prime Minister."
  • "Exercising regulatory authority in matters pertaining to their Department."
  • "Exercising any other competencies assigned by laws, government organization and functioning rules, and any other provisions."
  • Endorsing, where appropriate, the acts of the King in matters of their competence.

These general functions apply to the Minister of Defense with the material content specific to national defense, implying broad political, regulatory, and management capacity over the entire Defense field.

Specific functions in defense matters

Organic Law 5/2005, on National Defense, explicitly details the role of the Defense minister. The text indicates, on one hand, the role of the Government, and on the other, that of the competent minister:

• "The Government is responsible for determining defense policy and ensuring its execution, as well as directing military administration and agreeing on the participation of the Armed Forces in missions outside national territory," according to the Organic Law on National Defense.
• "The Minister of Defense, in addition to the competencies assigned by laws regulating the Government and the General State Administration, is responsible for the development and execution of defense policy."
• Specifically, the Law details that the minister is responsible for:
  • "Assisting the Prime Minister in the strategic direction of military operations."
  • "Directing the actions of the Armed Forces under the authority of the Prime Minister."
  • "Determining and executing military policy."
  • "Directing, as a member of the Government, military administration and developing the guidelines and regulatory provisions adopted by the Council of Ministers."
  • "Exercising other functions assigned by legal and regulatory provisions."

This regulation places the minister as directly responsible for the daily functioning and preparation of the Armed Forces, as well as the operational translation of political decisions adopted by the Government in defense matters.

Competencies of the Ministry of Defense framing her actions

The same Organic Law 5/2005 also defines the mission of the department headed by the minister:

• "The Ministry of Defense is the department of the General State Administration responsible for the preparation, development, and execution of defense policy determined by the Government, the obtaining and management of human and material resources for this purpose, as well as carrying out any tasks necessary to fulfill the missions assigned to the Armed Forces."
• It "integrates the Armed Forces so that the entire organization acquires the necessary structure to enable the effective execution of defense and military policy."

In practice, this means that the Minister of Defense:

• Plans and proposes to the Government the general line of defense policy and its military development.
• Organizes and directs the administrative and military structure of the department (Defense Staff, Armies, support bodies, etc.), according to organic regulations and structural royal decrees.
• Manages budgets, human resources (military and civilian personnel), and material resources (armament, infrastructure, equipment) of defense.
• Prepares and proposes regulatory norms in the defense field and executes the Council of Ministers' decisions in this matter.

All this is exercised under the authority of the Prime Minister, who directs defense policy and orders the missions of the Armed Forces, and within the constitutional framework that grants the State exclusive competence over "defense and Armed Forces," cited in Organic Law 5/2005 itself.

Before being appointed Minister of Defense in 2018, Margarita Robles had a long career in the judiciary and high State administration, and a relatively late entry into the PSOE's front political line. The available sources describe her as a pioneering magistrate, who reached high positions in the Ministries of Justice and Interior in the 1990s and became a magistrate of the Supreme Court. Already in Pedro Sánchez's era, she joined the PSOE in 2016 and served as parliamentary spokesperson before joining the Government. However, the consulted data do not allow reconstructing all the dates and steps of that previous career in detail.

Professional origin: a pioneering magistrate

Robles's biographical record in the consulted databases defines her primarily as a career magistrate. It is emphasized that she was a pioneering figure in the Spanish judiciary, as she became the first woman to preside over a contentious-administrative chamber and a provincial court. Neither the province nor the specific years are specified, but the emphasis is on that breaking of glass ceilings in traditionally male-dominated judicial bodies.

The same biography summarizes that, after her passage through various judicial posts, her professional prestige finally led her to become a magistrate of the Supreme Court. In a current news piece, the newspaper Demócrata expressly recalls that "she was previously a Supreme Court magistrate," in the context of statements by Robles defending judicial independence and her confidence in the high court, where "she was previously a magistrate," according to the report Robles reaffirms her confidence in the Supreme Court.

Positions in Justice and Interior in the 1990s

The same institutional bio indicates that Robles "held high positions in Justice and Interior in the 90s." That is, before her stage as Minister of Defense, she had already had political or management responsibilities in the State apparatus, linked to socialist governments.

A later piece from Demócrata provides a key fact about that phase: when commenting on the Kitchen case and Robles's criticism of the PP's attitude towards justice, the newspaper recalls that the minister "herself worked years ago in the Ministry of the Interior" and specifies that "at that time, she held the Secretary of State for Security during Juan Alberto Belloch's tenure as minister" (article about Robles and Tellado). This is the only concrete position in the Executive prior to 2018 explicitly identified in the consulted news.

The sources do not detail other possible posts in the Ministry of Justice or the General Council of the Judiciary; only the generic bio insists that she held "high positions" in both areas. Nor are exact appointment and dismissal dates provided for the Secretary of State for Security or other administrative posts.

Judicial career and public image

Beyond formal positions, various Demócrata texts reinforce Robles's image as a reference jurist. In several interviews and reports, she is presented as a "career magistrate," emphasizing her constant defense of the separation of powers and respect for judicial rulings, even when they affect the Government itself. For example, in a piece on criticisms of the justice system's functioning, the newspaper recalls that "as a professional judge, Robles reiterated the need to comply with the Constitution," according to another report on CGPJ and Budgets. In another, it stresses that she is "Minister of Defense and career magistrate," calling to avoid "generic shadows" over the judiciary, in an analysis on justice and judges' image.

These references do not add new positions but do place her previous trajectory mainly in the judicial field, with a technical profile that later projects onto her political role.

Joining the PSOE and parliamentary stage

In strictly political terms, Robles's biography used in the political actors database indicates that she joined the PSOE in 2016 and that, before entering the Government, she was parliamentary spokesperson. This formulation points to a stage as a deputy and head of the socialist spokesperson in the Congress of Deputies in the legislature immediately prior to her appointment as Minister of Defense in 2018.

However, neither the structured record of parliamentary positions consulted nor the Demócrata news provide more details about that phase: the constituency for which she was elected, the commissions in which she worked, or the exact period she served as spokesperson are not specified. Nor have profile pieces or biographical reports been found in the databases used for this response that detail her leap from the judiciary to party politics.

Limitations of the available information

In summary, with the sources available, a reliable but incomplete outline of Margarita Robles's trajectory before Defense can be drawn: pioneering magistrate and later Supreme Court magistrate; high positions in the Ministries of Justice and Interior, including Secretary of State for Security with Belloch; and joining the PSOE in 2016 as a deputy and parliamentary spokesperson. No further information is available in the consulted sources about exact dates, initial judicial posts, other possible Executive positions, or details of her parliamentary activity prior to 2018.