Political tension around Spain’s regularisation programme escalated on 23 July when all 11 regions governed by the conservative Partido Popular (PP) failed to attend the 14th Sectorial Immigration Conference convened by Minister Elma Saiz. The boycott forced the cancellation of the plenary, which had been scheduled to review processing statistics and discuss EU Asylum Pact implementation. PP regional ministers accuse the central government of “opacity” for not sharing an economic-impact study and for refusing to release minutes of previous technical meetings. They also claim the extraordinary amnesty “overloads” regional health and social-services budgets. Saiz called the no-show “an antisystem gesture” and held bilateral meetings with the six autonomous communities that did attend (Navarra, Catalonia, Basque Country, Asturias, Castilla-La Mancha and the Canary Islands). For multinational employers the breakdown complicates compliance, as regional authorities issue key ancillary documents such as padrón certificates and social-assistance reports. Companies operating across several regions may now face diverging bureaucratic practices and longer waits depending on local political attitudes. Analysts note that the dispute could spill into Spain’s Conference of Presidents later this year, where regional funding models are negotiated. Should PP regions withhold cooperation, Madrid might centralise certain immigration functions—an option business groups fear could create short-term bottlenecks. In the meantime Saiz promised to circulate a detailed cost-benefit report “within weeks” and urged regions to re-engage, warning that failure to do so would “harm thousands of applicants and the employers who need them”.
Source: El País
