Overview
- The cabinet approved two draft bills to align Spanish law with the EU Pact by creating a new asylum law and reforming the immigration statute to speed procedures and repatriations while preserving asylum guarantees.
- The government declared Ceuta a matter of national security and set up a single command to coordinate operations after the enclave experienced a sudden large influx of migrants.
- Madrid authorized an extraordinary €25 million package for unaccompanied minors and ordered an immediate expansion of Ceuta’s 2022 socioeconomic development plan, which already had more than €180 million committed.
- Officials said the EU Pact’s new regulations apply directly in Spain and allow Madrid to request relocation quotas from other states and the operational deployment of Frontex to assist border management and returns.
- The executive said it will fast-track approval of the reforms, a move that will accelerate returns for those without protection claims and raise legal and humanitarian questions about how expedited procedures will be applied on the ground.