The Government Will Defend the Legitimate Interests of the Balearic Islands Regarding the Royal Decree Regulating Extraordinary Migratory Contingency Situations
The appeal warns about the lack of budget allocation and the potential negative effects on the child protection system in the Balearic Islands.
The Consell de Govern has today authorised the Directorate of the Legal Service of the Autonomous Community to file a contentious-administrative appeal before the Supreme Court against Royal Decree 658/2025, of July 22, which regulates the measures to be adopted in situations of extraordinary migratory contingency to protect the best interests of unaccompanied migrant children and adolescents.
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The Legal Service to Appeal to the Supreme Court Against the Distribution of Unaccompanied Migrant Minors
Royal Decree 658/2025 aims to develop and specify the actions to be taken by the General State Administration and the autonomous communities and cities with Statute of Autonomy in the event of an extraordinary migratory contingency, in accordance with Royal Decree-Law 2/2025, of March 18, which approved urgent measures to guarantee the best interests of children and adolescents in extraordinary migratory situations. The Autonomous Community of the Balearic Islands (CAIB) has already challenged this Royal Decree-Law before the Constitutional Court, based on several key points: the lack of budget allocation to adopt urgent measures, the violation of the requirement for an organic law, and the infringement of the exclusive powers of the Autonomous Community of the Balearic Islands, particularly regarding the custody and protection of minors.
The Autonomous Community considers that the regulation established by Royal Decree 658/2025 violates the constitutional principles of autonomy and solidarity among autonomous communities, and does not guarantee the prohibition of arbitrariness by public authorities in the distribution of minors. The regulation would seriously affect the financial autonomy of the CAIB, endangering the child protection system and hindering the management of resources allocated for this purpose.
Through this new appeal, now authorised, the Government seeks to defend the rights and competences of the Balearic Islands in the field of child protection and to challenge the regulation imposed by the Royal Decree, which establishes a system of compulsory distribution of unaccompanied migrant minors among the autonomous communities. This measure is applied without taking into account the specific characteristics and capacities of each territory, and may result in an opaque and even discriminatory distribution, as highlighted by the Autonomous Community’s legal experts.
This decision follows a detailed analysis of reports from the Department of Families, Social Welfare, and Dependency Care, which warn of the pressure borne by the child protection system in the Balearic Islands, particularly regarding unaccompanied migrant children and adolescents. The Department of Families has considered that Royal Decree 658/2025 contravenes the legitimate interests of the Autonomous Community, with a negative impact on the management and protection of this vulnerable group.
The Government of the Balearic Islands reaffirms its commitment to defending the rights of unaccompanied migrant minors and preserving the autonomous powers in the field of child protection.