Mariano Rajoy chairs meeting of National Security Council

President's News - 2015.4.24

The President of the Government, Mariano Rajoy, chaired the meeting of the National Security Council on Friday morning at the Moncloa Complex, called following the extraordinary European Council held on Thursday. At Friday's meeting, progress was made on specific actions that Spain will adopt on migratory crisis management in the Mediterranean, a crisis of great magnitude, which has become unendurable following the tragic shipwrecks that have taken place in recent days, in particular in the early morning of 19 April.

1. Mariano Rajoy chairs meeting of National Security Council | 2015.4.24

01:02 1. Mariano Rajoy chairs meeting of National Security Council

Moncloa Palace, Madrid

The first and most urgent measures should be geared towards avoiding the further loss of human life. In addition to stepping up capabilities under the framework of the FRONTEX Operation 'Triton', to which end the President of the Government expressed Spain's pre-disposition in Brussels on Thursday, other types of short-term actions were also discussed, and Spain's initiative to create a genuine common European Union migratory policy, which is truly comprehensive and covers all the aspects of this phenomenon, was once again taken up. Spain stands as a benchmark on this issue, in terms of promoting dialogue, development, respect for fundamental rights and integration.

Guidelines were established at the National Security Council for Spain to adopt specific measures in a coordinated and focussed manner, in certain phases, so that at the upcoming European Council in June, and following the presentation in May of the European Migration Agenda, the progress made on Thursday's political agreement can be translated into actions.

The National Security Council also approved the 2014 Annual Report on National Security, which will be presented to the Lower House of Parliament on Tuesday 28 April by the Director of the Presidency of the Government's Office and the Secretary of the National Security Council. It also approved the National Action Plan for compliance with the United Nations Security Council's Resolution 1540, the Compliance Committee of which Spain has chaired since January 2015.