Alberto Núñez Feijóo is Spain’s leader of the opposition and the president of the People’s Party. On July 30, at least 80,000 people crossed into Ceuta from Morocco, the largest violation of territorial integrity we have experienced in recent decades. That challenge tested the resilience of Spain’s southern border and, therefore, of Europe’s southern border.
It continues 50 days later. With no clear prospect of when it might be resolved. It is therefore time to ask ourselves whether our response matches the scale of what is at stake.
A border is not just a line on a map. It is the expression of a political community that decides which values to protect and which responsibilities to share. When a European border is breached, Europe as a whole becomes weaker.
When a border is not properly defended, Europe as a whole is left unprotected. That is what is happening. The response of the current Spanish government, incapable of acknowledging the true nature of the problem and implementing the correct solution, obliges me to reiterate, first and foremost, the obvious, as the President of Ceuta did last week during his visit to Brussels.
We are not witnessing a conventional migration crisis, but rather the consequences of an invasion originating from Morocco, which must therefore be held responsible for having condoned or instigated it. Normality has disappeared from Ceuta for more than six weeks, and the scenes of chaos, overcrowding and insecurity should both shame us and compel us to act. To think that the prolongation of this situation will have no consequences is a mistake we cannot afford to make: it affects our sovereignty, our collective capacity to defend the rule of law, the safety of our citizens, and the credibility of the European project in ensuring its own stability.
El briefing imprescindible para quienes deciden, negocian y marcan la agenda política. Undoubtedly, the national authorities are the first to bear the responsibility for resolving this crisis, in accordance with a non-negotiable principle shared by all EU member states under the Pact on Migration and Asylum: those who have entered irregularly must be returned. The Spanish government’s obligation is not to find accommodation for them, but to expedite their departure.
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