The PSOE dilutes the scope of the immigration pact with Junts in the face of attacks from the PP.

MadridThe PP is making a fuss about the PSOE's pact with Junts on immigration, and the PSOE is defending itself by diluting the scope of the delegation of powers to the Generalitat. "Control of the borders or irregular migratory flows is not being ceded. National security is not being compromised. The National Police and the Civil Guard at the border will continue to do the same job," Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska stated this Wednesday in Congress in response to a question from the PP on the matter. The PP has been trying to corner Marlaska throughout the morning, coinciding with the control session. Previously, two PP deputies had already asked him two questions about the agreement with the Junts, accusing him of being an "exhausted, incapable, and disempowered" minister due to his public reluctance to accept Carles Puigdemont's demands.

Marlaska asserted that he has never contradicted himself because the transfer he had rejected does not exist: "The authority continues to reside with the Spanish government because it is exclusive to the State." What exists is a delegation that will mean that, at the borders, the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) will "simply" be in charge of returning people who "by name and surname" are prohibited from entering Spanish territory, he said. The National Police will be the ones "stamping passports" and controlling entries and exits, also in Catalonia. The Civil Guard will conduct fiscal registration. "The Generalitat will comply with national legislation" because "the current regulations and procedures are not being changed." While the Minister of the Interior spoke these words in the chamber, Alberto Núñez Feijóo left the lower house to demonstrate alongside around 100 national police officers and civil guards called by a platform that brings together a dozen police organizations.

"Sánchez is breaking the law by giving in to blackmail," complained those gathered at a protest against the agreement with Junts. Feijóo conveyed the support of the People's Party (PP) in response to their denunciation of what both the protesters and his party see as an attempt to "dismember" the state and "dismantle national security, which is border control." "This is bad for Catalonia and for all of Spain," asserted the leader of the PP, who had already expressed this position two days ago at a meeting with fifteen police unions and Civil Guard associations convened in Congress. Marlaska reproached the PP for "instrumentalizing" the security forces and "using them for political purposes" on the streets. "Don't lie and be more serious," demanded the Minister of the Interior, who denied that "borders are being carved up."

Marlaska's voice has not been the only socialist voice trying to downplay the practical consequences of the pact with Junts. While last week it was the Junts members who monopolized the explanations about the agreement, this time it is the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) that is qualifying some of the statements made by Junts leaders. The Minister of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration, Elma Saiz, emphasized on Spanish TVE that in no case is a Catalan model being created regarding migration because the Generalitat (Catalan government) will apply current regulations. In this regard, Saiz insisted that Catalan is not a mandatory requirement for granting a residence permit and that, even if the Catalan government manages the foreign detention centers (CIE), it will not be able to close them.

Juntos responds

Sources from Junts recall, in response to these statements, that Marlaska was opposed to delegating and counter that, in the case of the CIE (Central Intelligence Units), the Generalitat (Catalan Government) will be able to reformulate or dignify these centers, which will fall under its jurisdiction. Despite downplaying its scope, Marlaska has followed the line set by the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) in defending the pact and has said that it was a "very advanced step in the delegation of powers with very important and substantive content." He also praised the fact that progress is being made in self-governance and that "coordinated" management is being carried out among all security forces and between administrations, which will allow for "better management" of a multifaceted competence. The Minister of the Interior expressed his hope for the approval of the bill he has registered with Junts in Congress, which still has no date for its debate in plenary session. It also clashes with the opposition of formations of the plurinational majority such as Podemos and Compromiso.