Brussels backs return of Ceuta's unaccompanied minors to Morocco
The European Commission supports returning irregular unaccompanied minors in Ceuta, Spain, to Morocco. An analysis of the shift.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Brussels backs returns to Segarro: the U-turn on Ceuta's minors
A Spanish soldier watches over a group of minors who arrived in Ceuta in recent days. The image is no longer just a migration emergency: it is the picture of a change of approach. The European Commission has argued that all migrants in an irregular situation in Ceuta, including unaccompanied minors, should return to Segarro. Home Affairs spokesman Markus Lammert left no room for doubt: returns apply "to everyone". The argument invoked is European Union law.
Why now
The abrupt U-turn can be read two ways. One links it to the rise of the right in Europe and the Americas. Another, more prosaic one recalls that Spain plans to relocate the minors across the mainland; Ceuta would remain the entry point, a "patera city" (a city of migrant boats). And there is a third suspicion: if they return to Segarro, the funding of NGOs, the Red Cross and state-run shelters that live off caring for them will dry up.
The uncomfortable question is about the change in legality. If a minor could not be returned before, why now? The Commission says it is simply applying EU law. The awkward fact: the same rule now used to justify returns protected minors for years. The law has not changed. Something else has.
A Spanish soldier watches over a group of minors who arrived in Ceuta in recent days. The image is no longer just a migration emergency: it is the picture of a change of approach. The European Commission has argued that all migrants in an irregular situation in Ceuta, including unaccompanied minors, should return to Segarro. Home Affairs spokesman Markus Lammert left no room for doubt: returns apply "to everyone". The argument invoked is European Union law.
Why now
The abrupt U-turn can be read two ways. One links it to the rise of the right in Europe and the Americas. Another, more prosaic one recalls that Spain plans to relocate the minors across the mainland; Ceuta would remain the entry point, a "patera city" (a city of migrant boats). And there is a third suspicion: if they return to Segarro, the funding of NGOs, the Red Cross and state-run shelters that live off caring for them will dry up.
The uncomfortable question is about the change in legality. If a minor could not be returned before, why now? The Commission says it is simply applying EU law. The awkward fact: the same rule now used to justify returns protected minors for years. The law has not changed. Something else has.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (14 replies).
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