Spain opened its doors for mass legalization of undocumented immigrants. Hundreds of thousands of people are lining up at post offices, social security offices, and migration centers to apply for a one-year residence permit. The requirement: minimum five months living in Spain and a clean record. The deadline is the end of June.

The government estimates around 500,000 migrants may qualify, but the Funcas research center believes the number could reach 840,000. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called this an act of justice and necessity - people working in Spain should do so under equal conditions and pay taxes.

The economic logic is clear: unemployment dropped to its lowest level in 18 years - 9.93%. Agriculture, tourism, and the service sector depend on these workers. One in five residents of Spain was born abroad - about 10 million people, mostly from Latin America and Africa. Spain has already carried out legalization programs six times between 1986 and 2005, including under conservative governments.

While the rest of Europe shuts its doors and builds fences, Spain does the opposite. Is Sanchez a visionary addressing labor market reality, or a populist opening Pandora's box? In the Balkans, where emigration is a bigger problem than immigration, the question is even more ironic: we're losing people, they're legalizing them.