Ceuta migrant children: Spain approves €25m support fund

Spain’s Council of Ministers approved an extraordinary €25 million fund for unaccompanied migrant children in Ceuta on 25 August, as the government said all care arrangements had been activated. Speaking in Madrid, Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory Minister Ángel Víctor Torres urged Spain’s autonomous communities to act responsibly ahead of the Sectoral Conference on Childhood and Adolescence on 27 August.

The funding proposal is due to be voted on at the meeting. It will cover Ceuta’s immediate reception and care of unaccompanied children and teenagers, including information and guidance, psychosocial support, schooling, social inclusion and employment integration.

The fund can also pay for accommodation, transfers, food, clothing, legal assistance, medical care, educational support, translation and services for vulnerable people. Ceuta may additionally use it to expand places in its care system and meet related staffing costs.

Torres also addressed a Ministry of Youth and Children proposal to transfer 500 migrant girls from Ceuta to mainland Spain. He said the autonomous city must retain guardianship, even if transfers take place immediately.

The minister said returns were the government’s priority, while acknowledging that the process involved legal and practical steps. He criticised People’s Party leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo over his comments on returning migrant children, warning against measures that did not follow the law.

Topics: Migration · Education · Politics

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com