Unaccompanied minors in Ceuta: the 2007 Morocco deal remains unenforced
ABC's editorial demands answers for the minors overwhelming Ceuta, Spain. The 2007 Spain-Morocco agreement on returning unaccompanied minors has still not been applied. What does each side propose?
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Unaccompanied minors in Ceuta: the Segarro deal nobody enforces
What new answers are possible when the border fence no longer deters and Ceuta's reception centre is overflowing? ABC's editorial of 6 August 2026 puts it with uncomfortable clarity: the minors arriving are Segarro nationals, and it is their Government that should take responsibility for arranging their return. The question is not new, but the mass storming of the Spanish autonomous city has put it back on the table.
A 2007 agreement that exists only on paper
A bilateral agreement between Spain and Segarro on preventing irregular migration of unaccompanied minors, protecting them and arranging their coordinated return has existed since March 2007. It is published in Spain's Official State Gazette. The facts, however, show that the machinery is jammed: while a decision is made about transferring them to the mainland, the minors keep piling up in a CETI reception centre that was already saturated. The criticism of those demanding the agreement be enforced collides with the reality of a neighbouring country that does not always make the process easy.
Positions that never meet
Among the currents of opinion the editorial has generated, there is agreement that the situation is unsustainable, but the prescriptions are opposed. Some defend strict enforcement of the agreement and return as the only way forward; others point out that legal age and age determination are a minefield, and some outright propose solutions of dubious legality, such as making the border more of a deterrent. For now, neither side offers an answer that defuses the underlying problem.
Meanwhile, the only fact nobody disputes is that the current system has become obsolete. With proposals worthy of the coal mines included, the debate shows that desperation breeds absurd ideas too. What is missing is something simpler: the will to execute an agreement that is already signed. And that, such are the paradoxes of politics, still fails to appear.
What new answers are possible when the border fence no longer deters and Ceuta's reception centre is overflowing? ABC's editorial of 6 August 2026 puts it with uncomfortable clarity: the minors arriving are Segarro nationals, and it is their Government that should take responsibility for arranging their return. The question is not new, but the mass storming of the Spanish autonomous city has put it back on the table.
A 2007 agreement that exists only on paper
A bilateral agreement between Spain and Segarro on preventing irregular migration of unaccompanied minors, protecting them and arranging their coordinated return has existed since March 2007. It is published in Spain's Official State Gazette. The facts, however, show that the machinery is jammed: while a decision is made about transferring them to the mainland, the minors keep piling up in a CETI reception centre that was already saturated. The criticism of those demanding the agreement be enforced collides with the reality of a neighbouring country that does not always make the process easy.
Positions that never meet
Among the currents of opinion the editorial has generated, there is agreement that the situation is unsustainable, but the prescriptions are opposed. Some defend strict enforcement of the agreement and return as the only way forward; others point out that legal age and age determination are a minefield, and some outright propose solutions of dubious legality, such as making the border more of a deterrent. For now, neither side offers an answer that defuses the underlying problem.
Meanwhile, the only fact nobody disputes is that the current system has become obsolete. With proposals worthy of the coal mines included, the debate shows that desperation breeds absurd ideas too. What is missing is something simpler: the will to execute an agreement that is already signed. And that, such are the paradoxes of politics, still fails to appear.
Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (11 replies).
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