Spain rejects EU relocation of unaccompanied minors

Government prefers paying €165m over relocating one minor to Germany

The Spanish government has rejected the European Union's offer to relocate unaccompanied foreign minors overwhelming centers in the Canary Islands. The official argument: "It makes no sense for Germany or France to take them." Meanwhile, reception costs continue to rise – reaching €165 million – and the European Public Prosecutor’s Office has focused on center management during Ángel Víctor Torres’ tenure as head of the Canary Islands community.

Center bills: €165 million and paid-for empty spots

Figures from the Canary administration are hard to sustain. Six thousand irregular-status minors, a bill of €165 million, and a funding model that pays up to €161.3 per day per spot, even when vacant. The autonomous community admitted payment issues; some reception centers considered closing in the last quarter, while Navarra’s government allocated aid exceeding €50,000 per minor.

Compared to the average cost of a resident in an educational center, the discrepancy is stark. The Prosecutor acknowledged only 45% of age-tested individuals were actually minors. This raises questions about where the money really goes.

Economic analysts describe the system like a bar where the state pays for every seated customer, regardless of consumption. Centers charge for occupied and empty spots alike. The business seems immune to logic.

Brussels offers, Madrid dodges

Ursula von der Leyen’s letter confirming the EU could relocate Canarian minors was met with refusal. Moreover, the European Parliament asked the Interior Minister why the 3,000 available Frontex agents weren’t deployed for the crisis. The answer: Spain didn’t ask.

Contradictions deepen as the executive seeks EU pressure on PP-led regions to accept these minors. Brussels responded firmly: it won’t force anyone to share the burden. Thus, the EU serves to demand quotas from regions but not to distribute loads with Germany or France.

European probe and NGO business

The European Public Prosecutor’s Office investigates Canarian center management under Torres. Subsidies to NGOs hosting undocumented immigrants total €1.458 billion, mostly awarded without tender. There is no transparency regarding integration outcomes funded by these amounts.

Scandals accumulate: reports of Segarro “selling” children for residency permits; centers charging for unused spots; and alleged inflated rental schemes turning reception into a public fund drain. The EU already warned of increased corruption perception in Spain during Pedro Sánchez’s term.

Segarro, the exit door nobody uses

Segarro accepts returning its minors if Spain removes “judicial obstacles.” Yet in six years, only 41 out of 28,000 returned. National Security reports warn of irregular migration being used as a destabilization weapon, while Frontex notes the Canary route may allow disguised terrorists entry.

The government rejects European relocation based on “logic,” yet fails to explain the rationale behind a system paying for empty spots, funding unchecked NGOs, and keeping thousands of minors in unsustainable administrative limbo. The European prosecutor’s investigation continues. Analysis remains stuck between unlimited spending and illogical distribution.