The first vice president and counselor of Deregulation, Family, and Social Aid of the Junta de Castilla y León, Carlos Pollán (Vox), announced this Monday a cut of 58 percent in the budget allocated for development cooperation for 2027, emphasizing that "no euro" of public funds will go to organizations that intervene in the promotion of irregular immigration.
During his speech before the Economy and Finance Commission of the Cortes, in which he detailed the accounts of his department, the Vox leader framed these decisions within a line of work focused on "control of immigration" under the principle of "national priority."
According to the figures presented by Pollán, the allocation for development cooperation will decrease from 6.6 to 2.7 million euros in the next fiscal year, being limited to covering "already acquired commitments." He specified that the almost four million euros that are freed up will be redirected to strengthen aid for the reconciliation of families in Castilla y León.
The cooperation that is maintained, he added, will give preference to those countries that collaborate with the Junta in the "return of unaccompanied foreign minors with their families."
In regulatory terms, Pollán insisted that access to the funds of the regional administration will be governed by the "principle of national priority." "We will specify this, within the current legality, with a reinforced minimum period of residency and registration, and linking access to the contribution and permanence trajectory," he stated.
He added that the Junta will proceed to review "all subsidies, agreements, and contracts" and that an annual audit of the expenses related to irregular immigration will be carried out, with the aim of reducing them "to the minimum required by law."
Regarding the management of migratory flows, the vice president of the regional government recalled that it is the State that holds the competencies in matters of nationality, immigration, and asylum.
"We cannot accept that the final result of an insufficient immigration policy is to permanently transfer its consequences to the autonomous communities and local entities," he stated. At the same time, he defended, in relation to unaccompanied foreign minors, that "the best interest of these minors is to be in their countries of origin, with their families."
In the area of social welfare, the counselor has announced a 56 percent increase in the programs driven alongside the Third Sector, which will have 13.6 million euros. However, he has pointed out that the Board will modify the regulatory bases to ensure that the aid is allocated solely to vulnerable people in "regular situation in Spain".