The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, has stated that in the current situation in Ceuta "there is too much provocation" and "support and solidarity" are lacking, while reiterating his support for the measures implemented by the central government. "Those who create problems, that's their issue," he emphasized.
During a visit this Friday to Medina de Rioseo (Valladolid), Planas highlighted that "at this moment there is too much provocation and a lack of spirit of solidarity and support" in a context he described as "very complicated." At the same time, he insisted that the Government is using all available resources to provide responses and ensure the recovery of coexistence in the autonomous city.
"What we are working on from the Government of Spain is to normalize a situation that is very complicated and very difficult, and everyone is aware of it, and we are working without any reservations and with all the effort and all the means to achieve, on one hand, a place and dignified accommodation," the minister stated.
In this line, he indicated that the actions of the State are aimed, among other aspects, at organizing and clarifying the files of the people who have arrived in the area. "This work is being carried out not only for the identification of the people but also for the clarification of the asylum and refuge applications that exist to make a decision, in their case about the return to Morocco or not, and obviously in relation to minors, but above all, the total priority is the restoration of normalcy and coexistence," he asserted.
Likewise, the minister has emphasized the condition of Ceuta as an external border of the European Union and the obligation to act with institutional foresight. "I know Ceuta, it has been a permanent characteristic of our two proudly Spanish autonomous cities, which are Ceuta and Melilla, and as the President of the European Commission recalled yesterday in Strasbourg, they are evidently the border of the European Union and Spain, therefore, I believe that what is needed here, as always, is help, rowing in the same direction and not creating problems," he defended, adding next: "We are for solutions and for work. Those who want to go in another direction, they will know what they are doing."
Regarding the discrepancies arising from the transfers of migrants and the coordination with the authorities of the autonomous city, Planas has sent the explanations to the competent department of the Executive. "I am a very rigorous person in my statements and it is something that they should undoubtedly ask the one who is in charge of the coordination, my colleague the Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, who is the one effectively coordinating the Government's actions," he has conveyed.
In this sense, he has again rejected that this issue is used for partisan confrontation or campaign purposes. "I said it a moment ago, this is not about creating problems, this is about seeking solutions and evidently in that sense, I have seen the way to Valladolid, we are going to achieve it, no matter who it bothers, for us this is not politics or an electoral campaign, it is as always the action in defense of the interests of Spain and the Spaniards," he has added.
Finally, the Minister of Agriculture has reiterated that the Executive will maintain its institutional work until calm is fully restored in the area. "We are going to continue working, we are going to achieve the situation of normality that I believe is what everyone desires and to advance and solve problems. Those who create problems, that's their issue, what we do is provide solutions," he has concluded.