The Spanish government promises 309 million to Ceuta: "It represents 16% of the autonomous city's GDP"

MadridCeuta. It is what now occupies, according to Moncloa, a good part of the Spanish executive's task, and that is why this Tuesday's Council of Ministers press conference focused on economic and social measures to respond to the migratory crisis. The Vice President and Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo, has promised to mobilize up to 309 million euros to be disbursed in four months to the autonomous city. These aids will be directed, he said, to essential services, security, reception, and support for businesses. "It represents 16% of Ceuta's GDP," highlighted Cuerpo, who assured that the mobilization of resources will be "agile".

On the other hand, after the announcement of the king's visit to Ceuta and the meeting that Pedro Sánchez had yesterday with the monarch, Moncloa insisted this Tuesday that the relationship with Felipe VI is "good". However, the spokesperson for the Spanish government, Elma Saiz, did not want to reveal any further details about the possible visit – nor whether it will be during this legislature – and limited herself to reiterating that there are "arguments and reasons" for Felipe VI to go to the autonomous city. Thus, she denied that Sánchez's tone this Monday in the SER interview was one of "reproach", despite the fact that he boasted about having visited Ceuta up to four times since he became president, compared to other heads of the executive and the royal household itself, which has not been there since 2007, when Juan Carlos I was still king.

The details of the decree-law

The money announced by the Spanish government will be distributed as follows: 21 million for essential services, 90 for defense and security, 118 for the reception of minors, and 80 to support companies and self-employed workers. A line of guarantees of 50 million euros is also being launched. In addition, it has announced bonuses on corporate tax and also on deductions for self-employed workers, which will cost the public coffers 12 million euros. A measure that will be "structural" and will extend in parallel to Melilla. "The presence of the State is tangible and we want it to generate certainty to look ahead," insisted the minister, who highlighted the "absolute collaboration" of the city of Ceuta in the preparation of the measures, despite the abandonment denounced by the Ceuta president, Juan Jesús Vivas.

On the other hand, the decree-law also includes a monetary bonus for the Civil Guard and the National Police – 8 million and 7.1 million, respectively – as an "incentive to performance" for the agents deployed in Ceuta. However, the amount that will go to each one is not yet known.

"We are aware of the urgency of the action to restore confidence to the citizens of Ceuta. We hope that this decree-law that we approve today will serve as proof that we will put all our efforts into it," reaffirmed the head of Economy, accompanied by the spokesperson, Elma Saiz, and the Minister of Territorial Policy and leader of the single command for Ceuta, Ángel Víctor Torres. Three ministers who have visited the city in recent days and who, in the case of Saiz and Torres, will return this very Tuesday.

1,600 affiliated minors

Torres has been responsible for putting figures to the crisis situation in Ceuta. He assured that right now there are 3,400 places available to accommodate migrants, which have been added to the approximately 500 that Ceuta has structurally. Where will they be located? After the clash with the autonomous city to allocate the sports centers there, the council of ministers has backed down (already announced last week) to set up other spaces in agreement with the local administration. These are areas next to the port, "away from the urban center", and also land belonging to the Ministry of Housing.

Torres has also provided data on minors. After stating that the government's priority is to identify adults and minors to process the corresponding files (which the law states must be done to determine if they are entitled to asylum or must be returned), the Minister of Territorial Policy said that right now 1,612 minors have been identified, 500 of whom were already there prior to the massive influx of migrants on July 30 and 31. However, Torres himself acknowledged that it is impossible to know how many remain to be registered in the city. The head of the unified command insisted that for adults, individualized files must be opened, that is, to triage them to see if they have humanitarian protection, and in the case of minors, family reunification must be sought and, if not possible, they must be placed under the administration's guardianship. In fact, he admitted that there have only been 200 expulsions so far, and they were expedited due to public order disturbances. According to Europa Press, three of the expulsions have been linked to jihadism, and police unions are calling for extreme caution.

The PP attacks the Spanish government

Meanwhile, the PP continues to censor the Spanish government's management. "The Ceuta crisis is revealing many things that are happening to the Spanish government: there is a coordination crisis among government members and there is a credibility crisis," said popular spokesperson Borja Sémper, in an interview with La mañana de RNE.

Regarding the PP's strategy for the assistance of migrants, Sémper pointed out that his party advocates for return, including minors. "We should not implement Morocco's social policy in Spain. And there is also a return regulation from the European Union that enables the possibility for these minors to return to the country they came from," said Sémper. "The order of factors, in this case, must be: first, humanitarian reception of minors and protection, of course. Second, return to the country they came from. That is, Moroccan social services must take care of their minors. And, at the same time, also their return to their families. If the families do not want them, or do not appear, it is the Moroccan government that must take care of them," he stressed.

The Spanish government's response on whether an express return is possible has been forceful: "It is false. Impossible. They know it cannot be done," reacted Minister Torres, who described the PP's discourse as "populist." In fact, he recalled that when procedures have not been respected, there have been convictions for prevarication against leaders of both parties precisely after the migrant crisis in Ceuta in 2021.