Grande-Marlaska expresses Spain's opposition to the return centres due to "serious doubts" about their "legality and proportionality"

The Minister for Home Affairs, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, has expressed Spain's "firm" opposition to the new regulation on return and has conveyed to EU partners the Spanish government's "serious doubts" about the "legality and proportionality" of the creation of return centres in third countries.

During the Council of Interior Ministers in Luxembourg, the minister criticised the fact that detention is no longer an option of last resort, as the period of deprivation of liberty has been extended to 24 months, with "potentially indefinite" extensions.

"Are we going to allow people in an irregular administrative situation to be deprived of their liberty for longer than criminals convicted of serious crimes," Grande-Marlaska asked. "For Spain it is unacceptable and for the EU of rights and freedoms it should also be unacceptable," he added.

The Minister for Home Affairs expressed his concern about the creation of return centres in third countries, with non-binding agreements and "without guarantees" for people's rights, "to the point that a family with children could be returned to countries with which it has no links," he said.

Nor, in the minister's opinion, have these agreements taken into account their impact on the "credibility and effectiveness" of the bilateral relations of the member states, which are "key" in the migration policy of countries that, like Spain, are committed to cooperation. "And it is a migration policy that works and is halting irregular arrivals by more than 60 per cent in the Canary Islands," he recalled.

Temporary protection and EU drug strategy

The Council of Home Affairs Ministers discussed a new extension to the temporary protection of displaced people from Ukraine, which Spain has supported on the same terms as those currently applied. "No person under temporary protection will be left without an adequate solution to their situation," he said at the Council of Home Affairs Ministers in Luxembourg.

"Spain has received more than 266,000 beneficiaries of temporary protection and in terms of number of Ukrainian citizens received we are fourth in Europe despite our geographical remoteness," said the minister, who met with his Ukrainian counterpart in Kyiv, to whom he conveyed Spain's commitment to the reconstruction of the country.

Spain also supported the conclusions proposed by the presidency of the Council on the EU Drugs Strategy and its operational impact, which aim to harmonise the EU Action Plan against drug trafficking 2026-2030, the EMPACT priorities, the capacities of JHA agencies and existing cooperation instruments.

Grande-Marlaska mentioned Spain's "positive experience" in banning speedboats, while reiterating the importance of promoting a common European approach to intervene on high-powered vessels and engines, in cooperation with the private sector, as well as promoting a deterrent criminal response. "National initiatives are necessary, but insufficient," he stressed.

In his opinion, the Guardia Civil's recent operation on the Arconian, with more than 30 tonnes of cocaine seized, the largest ever seizure on a single vessel, demonstrates "the magnitude of the threat of drug trafficking" and the importance of acting on the maritime routes that connect Latin America, Africa and Europe.

Finally, within the framework of the Council, the minister held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Luxembourg, Léon Gloden; Estonia, Igor Taro; and Ireland, Jim O'Callaghan, the country that will hold the next presidency of the Council.

Non official translation