• EC gives Spain 60 days to correct irregularities in processing asylum seekers
• Spain could be hauled before European Court of Justice if it fails to take action
The European Commission (EC) has given the Spanish government two months to correct irregularities in Spain’s processing of asylum seekers arriving to the country’s north African conclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, where arriving migrants are frequently turned back or deported en masse to Morocco without having been duly processed or had their asylum request registered, as required by European Union (EU) immigration norms.
According to an EC directive issued September 29th, Spain has failed so far to incorporate the EU norms on the processing of asylum seekers into its own national legislation dealing with the treatment of refugees and asylum seekers. In addition, the EC said Spain has failed to adequately define in its legislation the role of the Defensor del Pueblo, ore “public defender” post charged with dealing with refugee issues, as required by EU norms and policies on immigration.
The EC directive issued last week said that if the Spanish government did not correct the situation within two months, the EC reserved the right to refer the case to the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
► Read More in Spanish at El Periodico, La Vanguardia and Europa Press …
