Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska and Migration Minister Elma Saiz met EU Home-Affairs Commissioner Magnus Brunner in Madrid on 17 September to request accelerated procedures for returning irregular migrants during “exceptional crises” such as Ceuta’s July events. The ministers argued that current Dublin and Return Directive timelines are ill-suited to sudden inflows that overwhelm local capacity. Spain wants the Commission to draft a regulation allowing member states to shorten appeal windows, conduct grouped interviews and charter joint repatriation flights funded from the EU budget. The proposal dovetails with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s recent speech calling for “flexibility” in emergencies. Brunner confirmed that €114.7 million in emergency funding—announced on 9 September—will reach Spain by October, including €35 million earmarked for two permanent identification centres (CATES) with 800 beds each in Ceuta and Melilla. Additional money will help extend the enclave’s sea-wall and deploy high-resolution surveillance drones. For employers the emphasis on faster returns and biometric centres means stricter identity checks for all third-country nationals entering via Ceuta and Melilla, even legitimate cross-border workers. Companies relying on Moroccan day-labourers should prepare for longer screening at El Tarajal once it reopens. Consulting firms note that a new EU emergency return tool would likely be mirrored in other hotspots, creating a more volatile compliance environment across the bloc. Draft legislative text could surface before the December Justice and Home Affairs Council. If adopted, Spain would become the pilot site—an outcome that will be watched closely by other frontier states and by multinational HR departments tracking relocation lead-times.
Source: El País
