In a written answer on 15 July 2026, Home Affairs Commissioner Magnus Brunner told the European Parliament that the European Commission cannot compel Member States to notify or reverse the dismantling of national police units, such as Spain's OCON-Sur, as internal security organisation remains a national competence. The answer, addressed to MEPs Nora Junco García and Diego Solier (both ECR), came in response to concerns that the disbanding of the Guardia Civil's elite anti-drug unit in September 2022 had contributed to a 78.4% surge in cocaine seizures at the port of Algeciras and the deaths of four civil guards in two years.
Brunner stressed that the Commission pursues the fight against organised crime and drug trafficking as a priority, but offered no concrete new measures to restore the lost operational capacity. Instead, he pointed to existing EU frameworks: the ProtectEU Strategy, a recent proposal to strengthen Europol's mandate, increased funding for EMPACT (with EUR 105.72 million allocated to Spain under the Internal Security Fund for 2026-2029), and the EU Action Plan against Drug Trafficking, which foresees a stronger role for the Maritime Analysis Operations Centre on Narcotics (MAOC-N). The answer did not address whether OCON-Sur's dismantling had affected any specific EMPACT, MAOC-N, or Frontex Indalo operation, nor did it propose a mandatory notification mechanism for Member States planning to disband border anti-narcotics units.
The response signals that the Commission will not intervene in Spain's internal security decisions, but will continue to support cross-border cooperation through existing EU agencies and funding instruments. The institutional follow-up is likely to involve continued implementation of the Action Plan and possible further strengthening of MAOC-N and EMPACT, though no timeline was given. The answer leaves the southern maritime border's operational gap largely unaddressed, shifting responsibility back to Madrid.