The Spanish government is drafting a new law that will restrict the right to asylum, following the path taken by the European Union in recent years.
A draft of the bill, to which EL PAÍS has had access, limits access to asylum application at migrant holding centers, and expands the list of legitimate reasons for denial.
The issue could be a cause of friction within Spain’s new coalition government, made up of the Socialist Party (PSOE) and the leftist Unidas Podemos. A spokesperson for the Interior Ministry declined to comment on the plans.
The Interior Ministry is planning more restrictions in order to adapt to European Union directives
The new rules are being drafted in response to several ultimatums from Brussels. Spain has been delaying the adaptation of its legislation to EU directives, and it has used up all its available time for doing so. The European Commission has warned Madrid repeatedly, most recently in October 2019, that failure to adopt European guidelines could land Spain before the EU Court of Justice.
The government, which was formed in January of this year following the repeat election of November 2019, is now working to adapt to EU rules, and the new legislation will also include a few initiatives of its own. The final version will depend on the outcome of negotiations between various actors, including the ministries of social security and migrations and foreign affairs.
