Adriel Perdomo / EPA
Immigrants arrive in Lanzarote, Spain.
The Spanish government approved a decree that allows the process of extraordinary regularization of half a million immigrants to begin. Spain is a “different” case, but “the signal is not good”, says European Commissioner.
The European Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration, Magnus Brunner, considers that the Spain sent a “bad signal” by regularizing 500,000 immigrants, stating that they hope it will not have an impact on other Member States.
In a joint interview with the Lusa agency and other European media, Magnus Brunner stated that he was not “very satisfied” with Spain’s decision to regularize 500,000 immigrants due to the impact that this measure could have on other Member States.
“I think it does not send a good signal to the other Member States, but it is a national competence and I cannot, nor do I want, to interfere. But we have to ensure that this decision does not have an impact on the other Member States”, he stated.
The European Commissioner stressed that the fact that the 500,000 immigrants have their situation regularized in Spain does not mean that they can “live or work elsewhere in the European Union (EU)”.
“Some people are now thinking that they can start moving around the EU. They can do that for 90 days in a 180-day period. After that, they have to return. Otherwise, they become undocumented, in which case they become illegal throughout the EU. It’s important to make that very clear,” he said.
Despite this, Magnus Brunner recognized that the situation in Spain “is different”because 80% of regularized immigrants are from Latin America, that is, “they speak Spanish, share the same culture, the same history and the same religion”.
“Therefore, it is easier to integrate them and I totally understand. (…) But the signal is not good and that is why, initially, I was quite reluctant – to put it diplomatically – due to the impact it could have on other Member States”, he stated.
In April, the Spanish Government approved a decree allowing the start of the process of extraordinary regularization of half a million immigrantsannounced by the executive at the end of January.
In a publication on social media, the President of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez, considered that this regularization is an “act of normalization, of recognizing the reality of almost half a million people who are already part” of Spanish “everyday life”.
In this interview, the commissioner was also asked about the return centers outside the EU that are foreseen in the new Return Regulation, agreed by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU last week.
Magnus Brunner highlighted that the European Commission only presented a proposal, based on a request from Member States, which creates a “legal basis” so that return centers can be created in third countries for foreign citizens who are illegal on European soil.
The European Commissioner said that, based on this legal possibility, it is up to interested Member States to enter into dialogue with third countries so that return centers can be created, stressing that Germany, Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and Greece have already expressed interest in this possibility.
“But we only created the legal framework, we are not going to get involved in the direct management of a return center at European level. That is not our role: our role was to create the legal basis for this to be possible. Now it is up to the Member States to explore these possibilities”, he said, adding that the European Commission only intervenes in this process again when a Member State informs it that it has reached an agreement with a third country.
“Then, we look at the agreement and analyze it to see if it meets the necessary standards and guarantees respect for human rights,” he said.
