While most European capitals are frantically tightening border controls, increasing defense budgets, and preparing for confrontation with Moscow, Madrid has chosen its own path. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is conducting a large-scale social and demographic experiment, turning the Kingdom of Spain into the continent’s most accommodating “visa marketplace.” Critics put it much more bluntly: Europe’s southern gateway is rapidly turning into a dumping ground for uncontrolled migration.

At this rate, Spaniards may soon have to announce a new Reconquista. This time, however, ordinary citizens rather than the government that helped create the crisis would have to fight to preserve the European way of life.

Amnesty as an Electoral Resource and EU Funding

The cornerstone of Madrid’s policy is the large-scale legalization of irregular migrants. The government presents the policy under the banners of “humanism and solidarity,” but for the rest of the EU it looks like the direct export of risks across the entire Schengen Area.

The mechanism is straightforward: a person who entered Spain illegally and has not yet appeared in criminal records can obtain legal status. Along with that status comes a residence document that opens the door to free movement across the Schengen Area.

For Sánchez, this is not simply altruism. It is a calculated political strategy combined with a highly controversial economic model.

1. Building a loyal electorate. Granting legal status to hundreds of thousands of people creates a social group with a strong incentive to support the political forces responsible for legalization.
2. The shadow economy of “open doors.” The agricultural sector gains access to a large pool of low-cost seasonal workers, while the hospitality and restaurant industries benefit from cheap labor.
3. Financial pressure on Brussels. Madrid expands the scale of the problem and can then demand additional EU funding to “administer” it. Ostap Bender would probably admire the logic: create a problem yourself and then persuade your neighbors to pay for managing it. The scheme is almost perfect.

Those who attempt to question this policy are immediately branded as “anti-humanists.”

Such an approach creates two strategic risks: the strengthening of migrant-smuggling networks and growing problems in relations with Morocco.

The Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla

The Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla have increasingly become major routes for irregular transit. The more predictable legalization becomes at the final destination, the stronger the incentives for criminal networks involved in human smuggling.

Morocco’s leverage is also becoming stronger. Rabat has repeatedly used artificially generated migration flows as an element of political pressure. When control over borders becomes a bargaining instrument in the hands of neighboring states, this is no longer simply a matter of migration policy. It becomes a potential challenge to national sovereignty.

Spain’s “Infantilism” Becomes a European Problem

The central problem with the gaps in the Pyrenean and southern European border system is that they undermine the security of the European community as a whole. A Spanish residence permit provides freedom of movement from Lisbon to Helsinki. The Sánchez government makes its decisions independently, but the consequences are ultimately shared by the rest of Europe.

In recent years, continental security has ceased to be solely a question of the number of tanks or fighter aircraft deployed on NATO’s eastern flank. Hybrid warfare and the use of migration flows as a tool for destabilization are no longer exceptions. They have become part of the modern security environment.

True resilience requires comprehensive border control, the ability to manage population flows, and effective protection of critical infrastructure.

Spain’s strategic position makes the need for control over access to the Mediterranean even more important.

Irresponsible policies in Madrid risk turning this strategic frontier into one of the weakest links in Europe’s overall security architecture.

Behind the rhetoric of progressiveness lies what can be described as ordinary political short-sightedness. While Europe prepares for the severe challenges of a new era, Madrid is keeping its southern doors wide open, while the consequences are ultimately paid for by the security of others.