At least ten autonomous communities will attend this Thursday, August 27, the Sectoral Conference on Childhood and Adolescence, which will address the extraordinary credit of 25 million euros intended for the care of migrant minors in Ceuta, following the massive arrival of foreigners on July 30, as well as the possible distribution among the autonomous communities of these minors. And, for now, three others have confirmed that they will be absent from the meeting: Castilla y León, Extremadura, and Aragón, while the Balearic Islands, the Community of Madrid, and La Rioja have, for the moment, avoided confirming their presence.

The first time a politician was convicted of influence peddling in Spain was 31 years ago. The historic socialist mayor of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Juan Ignacio Pujana, was sentenced to six years of disqualification, one month of arrest, and a fine. The Barcelona Court considered that he had facilitated an award for the construction and concession of several underground parking lots to a company that in turn had to subcontract the work to a construction company owned by a friend of his. The judges coined the term “chain influence peddling.” The mayor, using his position, pressured municipal technicians and officials. He did so, initially, out of friendship, since the sentence considered that he did not receive money in return, and he was acquitted of the charges of bribery and forgery. Evidently, Pujana disappeared from the public radar. Since then, it has been clear that the crime of influence peddling is one of the most difficult to discern, since it is necessary to prove pressure on an official or public officer and also to have the authority to carry out that coercion. Politicians who are already former, that is, who have left their positions in governments, often maintain a significant capacity for influence in those administrations, so they are often recruited by consultancies and companies to open the doors of the public sector for them. Is this the case of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero?

The first curve of Martínez Catena Avenue, the road that runs along the southern coastal area of Ceuta, serves to quite accurately predict whether it will be a day of migratory pressure in the autonomous city. From there, in the background, you can glimpse Tarajal beach. Unless the dense fog that often appears during many summer days prevents seeing the border with Morocco. That white curtain, besides announcing stifling heat, helps immigrants who try to swim to the Spanish coast avoid being detected. Foggy night, early morning of irregular arrivals.

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has endorsed this Thursday the Amnesty law approved by the Congress in 2024 in response to the preliminary questions raised about criminal oblivion by both the Court of Auditors and the National Court, regarding the possibility of amnestying embezzlement crimes, on the one hand, and terrorism, on the other. The CJEU must indicate whether the rule approved by the Congress in 2024 is compatible with the EU legal framework.