The third vice president of the Government and minister for Ecological Transition, Sara Aagesen, criticized this Sunday the refusal of several communities governed by PP and Vox to host minors arriving in Ceuta.
Aagesen defended that, in a situation like this, administrations must act in a coordinated manner and avoid political confrontation. “What the Spaniards expect from us is to work in a coordinated and united way and not to generate more noise,” she stated.
Extremadura, Aragón, and Castilla y León will not attend the sectorial
The vice president's statements come after Extremadura, Aragón and Castilla y León announced that they will not attend the Sectorial Commission on Childhood and Adolescence called for next August 13.
The meeting must address the situation of the minors arriving in Ceuta and their possible distribution among autonomous communities. The refusal of these three autonomous governments adds political tension to a migration crisis that has already had border, institutional, and European ramifications.
“Not to generate more noise”
Aagesen made these statements from the Advanced Command Post of the forest fire in Niebla, in Huelva, where she is participating in monitoring the emergency.
From there, the vice president insisted that the response to the situation in Ceuta requires cooperation among administrations. Her message is particularly directed at the communities that have refused to attend the sectorial meeting and that have linked their absence to their opposition to the distribution of minors.
The Government defends a common response
The Executive maintains that the care of unaccompanied migrant minors requires a shared response between the central Government and the autonomous communities. The crisis in Ceuta has increased pressure on the available resources in the autonomous city and has reopened the debate on territorial solidarity regarding childhood and migration.
For the Government, the Sectorial Commission should serve precisely to organize that response and coordinate the involved administrations. The absence of several communities governed by PP and Vox complicates that common framework and turns the reception of minors into a new focal point of political confrontation.
Message also to Italy regarding Schengen
Aagesen has also referred to the border controls applied to citizens arriving from Italy after the migration crisis. The vice president has defended that the Schengen area has not been violated and has expressed confidence that Rome will act accordingly.
“We expect Italy to react and to be clear that the Schengen area has not been violated at any time and is guaranteed,” she has pointed out.
Ceuta, minors, and internal borders
The crisis in Ceuta has placed the Government under double pressure. On one hand, the attention to the minors who have arrived in the autonomous city and the need to distribute responsibilities among territories. On the other, the reaction of some European States and the debate on the reintroduction of controls at internal borders.
In that context, the Executive is trying to convey a message of institutional normality and coordination. Aagesen has summarized that position with a central idea: administrations must work together, not feed political noise.