Dombrava challenges Spain’s migration policy and EU solidarity

Latvia’s Interior Minister Jānis Dombrava has accused Spain of weakening migration controls and questioned whether it should receive solidarity assistance from other European Union countries during a crisis, LSM reports.

Dombrava made the comments in a letter to Spain’s Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska. Latvia’s Interior Ministry sent the letter to LSM and said it had decided to publish the text, which was sent on August 3.

In the letter, Dombrava criticised Spain’s migration policy following the mass arrival of migrants in Ceuta, Spain’s North African enclave. He said Spain’s decisions had weakened protection of the external border and created risks for the entire Schengen area.

Dombrava said Spain’s decision to legalise more than half a million undocumented people had created a pull factor that human-smuggling networks had used within days. He also said an “distorted and false” interpretation of a July 8 ruling by Spain’s Supreme Court had provided an additional incentive for people to travel to Spain.

He argued that Spain could not unilaterally weaken protection of its external borders and expect other EU countries to accept the consequences of that policy without objections.

The letter also addressed the solidarity mechanism under the EU Migration and Asylum Pact. Dombrava questioned whether Spain should receive financial, personnel or relocation support from other member states if it is recognised as a country facing migration pressure.

He wrote that Latvia and other countries with external EU borders could find it difficult to accept the use of the solidarity mechanism in a situation where, in his assessment, Spain’s own political and legal decisions had significantly contributed to the emergence of the crisis.

Ministry representatives said the letter should be regarded as working communication between officials rather than communication material, and asked that this context be taken into account.