The regional governments of Castilla y León, Extremadura and Aragon notified the minister in writing on 26 August 2026 that they would not attend the 27 August 2026, convened for Thursday, Conferencia Sectorial de Infancia y Adolescencia . In letters to the Minister for Youth and Children, Sira Rego, officials said they would not accept unaccompanied minors from Ceuta and would legally challenge any administrative act concerning their transfer unless it was based on repatriation to Morocco.
The decision concerns the three regional governments in which Vox is part of the governing coalition: in Castilla y León, Carlos Pollán holds the post of vice-president, which has so far been granted to Vox, and heads the relevant departments; in Extremadura, the government names Vice-President Óscar Fernández Calle as signatory; in Aragón, Alejandro Nolasco represents Vox. According to the regional executives, this is their second formal intervention to the ministry since 8 August 2026.
Minister Sira Rego had called the extraordinary meeting to approve, among other things, an exceptional budget credit of 25 million euros to support the city of Ceuta and coordinate measures to distribute unaccompanied minors across Spanish territory. The central government justifies transfers and financial assistance on the grounds of children’s best interests and statutory requirements for protective accommodation and guardianship arrangements.
The background is the mass irregular entry across the Ceuta border in late July 2026, which placed heavy pressure on the exclave’s care facilities. According to government sources, around 1,500 unaccompanied minors are currently in Ceuta, a figure that includes both newly arrived children and people already registered as needing protection.
The withdrawal of several autonomous communities has immediate implications for short-term coordination: announced urgent applications against individual transfer orders could delay implementation and extend administrative deadlines. At the same time, the conflict increases political pressure on the central government to provide an adequate formal justification for the planned financial aid and distribution arrangements before a formal state body, in order to minimise legal challenges. It remains unclear whether courts will issue interim orders and how quickly a compromise between the central administration and the autonomous governments can be reached.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).