The leader of the Partido Popular, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, on Wednesday demanded the immediate convening of the Comisión de Secretos Oficiales in the Congreso de los Diputados . At the body, which exercises parliamentary oversight of the Centro Nacional de Inteligencia (CNI) and the use of classified funds, the intelligence service is to provide information about the government’s conflicting accounts of the intelligence picture before the mass border crossing into Ceuta in late July 2026.
Specifically, statements by Defence Minister Margarita Robles and Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska are at odds. Robles has publicly said that on 29 July the CNI sent state authorities warnings that calls for coordinated crossings from Morocco were circulating on social media. Grande-Marlaska, by contrast, denied that the Interior Ministry had received a corresponding report from the intelligence service. Feijóo wants to have this discrepancy clarified at a confidential meeting.
On 5 August, the PP had already asked Congress to activate the commission during the summer recess and summon both Robles and the CNI director, Esperanza Casteleiro . The Conservatives are also calling for an examination of whether the CNI informed the government in good time about developments and how coordination between departments worked. As of Wednesday, there had been no decision by the Speaker of the Congress of Deputies, Francina Armengol, to convene the meeting promptly.
In practice, the Comisión de Secretos Oficiales is the forum in which MPs oversee the CNI and gain access to classified matters. Meetings are held behind closed doors; testimony from government members and intelligence representatives is subject to strict confidentiality rules. Politically, Feijóo’s demand serves two purposes: formally clarifying information and lines of responsibility, and increasing pressure on the government amid criticism of its response to the events in Ceuta on 30 July.
Regardless of party-political assessments, it is undisputed that the situation in the North African exclave placed heavy demands on security forces in late July and sparked an intense debate about border management and early-warning mechanisms. Whether and to what extent the CNI issued prior warnings is the subject of the dispute. As of 26 August, no firm date had been announced for a meeting of the secrets commission. Predictions about possible personnel or organisational consequences remain speculative until parliament reviews confidential testimony and the government provides a consolidated account.
Editor: Phillipe Schmidt-Araguin (Article created with AI assistance).