This situation marks the second time the PP has been absent from a crucial sectoral meeting for Canarias. The first occurred in July last year, when the reception of migrant minors arriving in the islands was to be debated, a key battle for the Canarian Government this legislature.
Sources from Minister Sira Rego's department informed the media at the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy about the impossibility of holding the meeting due to a lack of quorum, with the exception of Ceuta and Canarias among the PP-governed communities.
“"The Minister of Social Affairs, Family and Youth of the Community of Madrid, Ana Dávila, has refused to attend the Sectoral Conference on Childhood and Adolescence for having been convened “illegally” and has accused the Government of Spain of wanting to “prolong” the “forced distribution of unaccompanied foreign minors”."
This argument is similar to the one used a year ago by the PP, which justified its absence by claiming that the Government intended to impose a “forced” and “illegal” reception that violated the principle of territorial equality. However, the reception was approved in March 2025 in the Congress of Deputies through the modification of article 35 of the Immigration Law, a reform promoted by the Government of Canarias, of which the PP is a part along with Coalición Canaria. Despite this, Alberto Núñez Feijóo's party, along with Vox, voted against said modification.
The conference agenda included the presentation of information on the Royal Decree approving the ordinary capacity of protection systems for unaccompanied foreign minors, an update of a previous decree with a merely informative procedure. The Annual Evaluation Report on the Strategy for the Eradication of Violence against Children and Adolescents 2023 and 2024, as well as the status of the Barnahus model implementation in Spain, were also expected to be presented.
