The PNV sets conditions for the distribution of minors from Ceuta: "The first obligation of the State is not to distribute"

The Basque Government has distanced itself this Wednesday from the distribution among communities of migrant minors who arrived in Ceuta. The Minister of Welfare, Youth and Demographic Challenge, Nerea Melgosa, has demanded that the State first exhaust all avenues to locate their families and study a possible reunification.

The position introduces a new difficulty in the management of the Executive after Junts' slamming the door and the rejection by the far-right Vox. The PNV, one of Pedro Sánchez's parliamentary partners, conditions any transfer on prior negotiation with the Basque institutions and reminds that Euskadi's protection system is already working above its ordinary capacity.

Euskadi keeps open the possibility of taking in some of these children and adolescents. Its approach thus moves away from the complete veto announced by Junts for Catalonia, although it considerably raises the conditions that the Government must meet before implementing any referral.

"It worries me that we are normalizing the exceptional, that there are minors far from their families," Melgosa said in statements to the media in Vitoria. The minister considers it unreasonable that the first response consists of transferring them more than a thousand kilometers away and sending them to territories where they lack roots.

Before making that decision, the State should certify that it has tried to locate their relatives, assess reunification when possible, and individually study each case. "We are talking about boys, girls, and adolescents," insisted the PNV leader, who has placed the best interest of the minor as the central criterion for any action.

Euskadi demands agreement, files, and funding

"The State's first obligation is not to distribute minors, it is to fully exercise its responsibilities and exhaust all avenues for them to return to their families," Melgosa defended. The minister also demanded that the Government abandon any temptation to act through unilateral decisions or accomplished facts.

The warning applies both to the central Executive and to the procedure chosen to alleviate the pressure on Ceuta. The Basque Government demands that each transfer be accompanied by a complete file, sufficient economic resources, and all legal and welfare guarantees.

Any transfer will also have to be negotiated with the Foral Councils, which are the institutions responsible for assuming the guardianship of minors in Euskadi. Melgosa recalled that the Basque network currently serves more minors than it should according to its ordinary capacity and demands that this situation be taken into account when preparing the distribution.

The Basque Government is led by the PNV in coalition with the PSE, a circumstance that adds political weight to the warning. Melgosa has highlighted Euskadi's years of work in child protection and its commitment to an "ordered, regular and humane" migration policy, but has asked for institutional loyalty, planning and respect for competencies.

The Basque position comes a day after Junts threatened to withdraw its seven votes from the Government if Catalonia participates in the distribution. Carles Puigdemont's party demands to leave the community completely out and links any future negotiation to the integral transfer of immigration competencies.

The far-right Vox maintains a frontal opposition and several communities where it governs with the PP have announced that they will try to prevent transfers. Génova softened its discourse this Wednesday and now assures that it will comply with the law, although it demands a "fair, well-endowed and planned" distribution.

The PNV avoids aligning itself with these rejections and focuses its demands on the conditions of reception and the situation of minors. Its warning now forces the Government to specify the distribution, guarantee resources and agree on each transfer with the institutions that will assume guardianship.