Sánchez does not rule out transferring powers to Catalonia regarding the management of migrants and integration policies

It does not clarify whether Catalonia will be able to decide on the distribution of migrants and says that it is one of the most supportive communities

The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, does not rule out delegating powers to Catalonia related to the management of migrants in national territory and also on integration policies. On the contrary, he has reiterated that the part related to border control and the fight against irregular migration remains in the hands of the General Administration of the State and cannot be delegated.

In an interview on RNE, reported by Europa Press, Sánchez explained that there are autonomous communities such as Catalonia and Andalusia that include in their autonomy statutes points related to the management of migration such as "initial authorizations for employment" although in coordination with the State that grants residence permits, has indicated.

It is worth remembering that this competence mentioned by the president - work authorizations for migrants - was already transferred by the Central Government to Catalonia in 2009, with the socialist José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero in La Moncloa. The transfer was accompanied by more than 1.3 million euros to carry out this function.

Sánchez has not clarified whether Catalonia will be able to oppose the distribution of migrants with the powers that will be given to it, and has limited itself to pointing out that this community has been one of the most supportive when it comes to receiving migrants, compared to other governed by the Popular Party with Vox, as he has reproached.

"If one looks at the data on interterritorial solidarity, Catalonia is one of the most supportive autonomous communities. Remember that this debate on the relocation of migrants who have arrived particularly to the Canary Islands, where it has not found a response from the institutions, has not been in Catalonia, but in other autonomous communities governed by the PP with Vox," he indicated.

It also points out that social integration policies: education, housing or social services "are located in the autonomous communities." In this sense, Sánchez points out that as the European Union's Migration and Asylum Pact has recently been signed, it will be necessary to review many of these policies "to make them more effective and supportive."

"It is a debate that we have to open no matter what, because the migration pact has been reached for the first time in many years at the European level and now we will have to talk with the autonomous communities to know exactly how we can make these policies more effective" , he has indicated.

Along the same lines, Sánchez has defended that the policies he has implemented in recent years demonstrate his "decided commitment to coordination and cooperation" between autonomous communities and the General Administration of the State. However, Sánchez has admitted that the matter is on the table due to a demand from Junts in exchange for favoring the approval of two decrees.

Furthermore, given the statements made by Junts leaders in recent days, in favor of expelling multi-repeat migrants and for the regional government to have decision-making capacity over the distribution of migrants, Sánchez reiterates that in relation to expulsions and the fight against irregular migration , the central administration must decide. "I think I'm being clear," he concluded.