The Diplomat
The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, informed yesterday before his EU counterparts that Spain has already received almost 24,000 people fleeing the war in Ukraine in application of the European Temporary Protection Directive, which was activated last March 4 by the EU for the first time in history. On the other hand, 85 Ukrainian orphans arrived yesterday in Spain in a plane of the Ministry of Defense.
Grande-Marlaska participated yesterday in the Extraordinary Council of Justice and Home Affairs, held in Brussels, accompanied by the Secretary of State for Migration, Jesús Perea. During his speech, the Minister warned of the need to maintain “the unity and solidarity” that the European Union and its Member States have shown with Ukraine and offered Spain’s support to the Member States that are external borders and that “are under unprecedented pressure”.
He also announced that Spain has already granted a total of 23,870 protections to refugees due to the war in Ukraine since the activation, last March 10, of the emergency mechanism established to favor the rapid response to these requests. Madrid (5,120), Valencia (4,125), Catalonia (3,478) and Andalusia (3,245) are the autonomous communities in which the largest number of protections have been granted.
Besides, he explained, the Ministers of the Interior and of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration signed last March 9 the order developing the emergency procedure for the recognition of temporary protection. This procedure is a response to the agreement reached on March 4 by the Council of Interior Ministers of the European Union to activate, for the first time in history, the European Directive on Temporary Protection.
Displaced persons arriving in Spain can apply for temporary protection at the reception and reception centers set up by the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration in Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid), at the Ciudad de la Luz in Alicante and at the Fira de Barcelona, as well as at some 80 National Police stations set up for these procedures throughout Spain. All the protections entail a residence permit and, for those of legal age, a work permit. In addition, under the provisions of the Directorate General of Traffic, displaced persons who obtain temporary protection can legally use their driving licenses in Spain for at least one year.
On the other hand, last night the first flight of the new A330 acquired by the Ministry of Defense last November landed at the Torrejón air base, in Madrid. On board the aircraft were 85 Ukrainian orphaned children, who left in the early hours of yesterday morning from their facilities in Ukraine under the guardianship of their orphanage caregivers. “It is an emblematic flight, an example of the service of the Armed Forces to those who defend Ukraine and to those who suffer most in this merciless war,” said Defense Minister Margarita Robles.
For her part, the Minister of Justice, Pilar Llop, attended yesterday in Brussels the 9th meeting of the Vendôme Group – formed by the Ministries of Justice of Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Luxembourg -, together with the European Union (EU) Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders. During the meeting, the attendees reiterated their condemnation of Russian aggression in Ukraine and warned that those responsible for these war crimes and violations of international law must be held accountable for their actions. Therefore, the ministers stressed the importance of accountability through ongoing investigations and the need to cooperate and gather evidence so that investigations, both at the national level and by the International Criminal Court (ICC), can proceed.
In this regard, the Justice Heads noted the “important support” that Eurojust could provide in the effective coordination of investigations between EU Member States, Ukraine and the ICC Office of the Prosecutor. They also agreed to strengthen institutional coordination to ensure that refugees have the necessary information to enable them to show evidence of possible war crimes against the Ukrainian people through established channels, avoiding double victimization, and to facilitate the prosecution of foreign terrorist fighters who attack the Ukrainian people.
