MADRID, Spain – King Felipe VI has held up Ceuta as an example of civic spirit in the face of the extraordinarily complex situation the city has been experiencing since the mass entry of migrants at the end of July, and has championed flexibility and coordination between administrations to deal with major emergencies. The monarch referred to the autonomous city in his first public speech since the start of the migration crisis, during the opening of the 2026-2027 academic year at the National School of Civil Protection in Rivas-Vaciamadrid, where he stated that Ceuta is a city that everyone carries in their heart and mind these days.
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Felipe VI especially recognised the enormous work being carried out by Civil Protection personnel in the autonomous city, particularly its local forces, in close coordination with other public servants and volunteers, stating that the work of these men and women generates the admiration of all Spaniards, as does the fact that Ceuta, once again an example of civic spirit, has been the first territory in Spain to reach 100 per cent emergency training in its schools. It is also expected that Felipe VI and Queen Letizia will visit Ceuta in the coming weeks.
The King took advantage of his intervention to defend the need for different institutions to be able to coordinate in situations that exceed administrative or competency limits, noting that often a fire, an earthquake, a flood or a major accident transcends administrative borders or the delimitation of competencies, which in his view tests our flexibility and capacity for coordination, team formation and integration of resources from different public administrations. Felipe VI also recalled the extraordinarily serious fires recorded during the past summer as an example of the importance of preparation for emergencies and defined Civil Protection as one of the noblest expressions of public service.
The head of state delivered these words during the inauguration of the renovated facilities of the National School of Civil Protection, an institution with more than four decades of history through which more than 40,000 professionals have passed. On his arrival, the King also observed a minute of silence and laid a wreath before the monolith dedicated to those who gave their lives protecting Spain in every emergency. At the same event, Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska maintained that no one can face a major emergency alone and defended collaboration between administrations when a situation exceeds the capacities of a territory, stating that when severity exceeds isolated territorial capacities, information and support can be added directly without replacing those who know and manage the territory.
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Marlaska linked this idea to the current situation in Ceuta and assured that all administrations have thrown themselves into supporting its population and are working side by side so that it can recover the normality of daily life in the shortest possible period. His statements came after Pedro Sánchez’s interview on Monday night on La Sexta’s El Intermedio, in which the prime minister questioned precisely the collaboration of Ceuta authorities, stating that in 2021 during the previous migration crisis they worked side by side and in 2026 that is not happening, in reference to the government of Juan Jesús Vivas. Marlaska also warned that climate change obliges reinforcing policies of anticipation, prevention and preparation for emergencies.
