Spain drafts decree to fast-track asylum rejections and expulsions in Ceuta

Madrid is finalising a royal decree-law that seeks to speed up the processing of asylum requests, refusals and expulsions in the enclave of Ceuta. The proposal would temporarily suspend core asylum protections, letting the Directorate General for International Protection resolve cases directly, bypassing the Inter-ministerial Asylum and Refugee Commission. It also introduces a rule that applicants who leave a crowded reception centre or fail to respond within five to ten days may be deemed to have implicitly withdrawn their claim.

Notifications could be made solely through the Official State Gazette, and the window to file an administrative appeal would shrink to five natural days. Experts, including university professor Diego Boza, argue the draft conflicts with the EU Migration and Asylum Pact and international law, particularly the non-refoulement principle, and could undermine constitutional guarantees of effective legal protection.