Four Spanish ministers to face Congress in late August over Ceuta migration crisis

Government schedules ministerial appearances

Four Spanish ministers will appear before Congress in late August to explain their handling of the migration crisis in Ceuta, after more than 72,000 people crossed the border from Morocco on July 30. The government will register the requests on Friday, August 7, proposing to the Congress president that Defense Minister Margarita Robles appear on August 25, Presidency and Justice Minister Félix Bolaños on August 27, and Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska and Foreign Affairs Minister José Manuel Albares on August 28, each before their respective committees. The ministers will appear at their own request during the extraordinary parliamentary period, according to sources from the Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Cortes. The government stated the ministers will inform "about the management within the framework of their competencies in relation to the events that occurred in the Autonomous City of Ceuta on July 30 and following days."

The government clarified that, to avoid duplications and given the importance of the matter, the ministers will appear in Congress, described as the "constitutionally prevalent" chamber, rather than the Senate, where the PP had also filed requests on August 6.

Opposition pressure and PP demands

The Popular Party (PP), led by Alberto Núñez Feijóo, had registered requests on Thursday, August 6, in both chambers for the appearance of the four ministers as well as Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. The party called for the urgent convocation of the Standing Deputation (Diputación Permanente) to hold an extraordinary plenary session in which Sánchez would explain his management of the crisis. The PP criticized Sánchez for remaining at La Mareta, his vacation residence, during what it described as one of the biggest security and immigration crises in recent years.

The PP also requested that Congress president Francina Armengol convene the Official Secrets Committee so that CNI director Esperanza Casteleiro could account for the role of the intelligence services in the crisis. Additionally, the party asked for the Joint Congress-Senate Committee on National Security to hear Diego Rubio, the cabinet director of the Presidency, over the dismissal of a National Security press officer who had released figures on arrivals in Ceuta. The PP also asked the Senate, where it holds an absolute majority, to enable August for appearances by Marlaska, Albares and Robles.

The crisis on the ground

The mass arrival of migrants swimming from Morocco to Ceuta began on July 30, with the flow finally ceasing on the morning of Saturday, August 1, according to Europa Press. The government deployed reinforcements from the State Security Forces and the Army to control the border while humanitarian assistance operations continued.

The government delegate in Ceuta, Miguel Ángel Pérez, described as a "misunderstanding" the claim that Ceuta city president Juan Jesús Vivas had warned Sánchez about what would happen on July 30. Pérez said prior conversations addressed the increasing migratory pressure and the situation following a Supreme Court ruling that prevents turning back migrants intercepted at sea.

I don't know if it was badly explained or it's a misunderstanding, because that is not true.

Ceuta currently shelters 1,017 unaccompanied minors, representing an overcapacity of more than 2,600% for a city assigned only 29 places.

Pérez called the refusal of some autonomous communities to take in migrant minors "more political discourse than anything else," adding that the prosecutor's office will decide on the matter.