<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The General Council of Spanish Citizens Abroad (CGCEE), the representative body of Spaniards residing abroad, has been forced to break its statutory meeting schedule due to budgetary problems, the government acknowledged in response to a parliamentary question from Sumar.</strong></h4> On June 18, representatives Enrique Santiago and Agustín Santos Maraver (a diplomat, former ambassador to the UN, and director of the Cabinet of former Foreign Minister Miguel Ángel Moratinos) filed a written question in which they recalled that the CGCEE, the body responsible for advising the government on matters of emigration and citizen participation and for channeling the demands and proposals of citizens abroad, must hold "according to its regulations" at least one plenary meeting and committee meetings each year. Despite this, the 2024 plenary session was not held as scheduled, but in 2025, which constituted "a failure to comply with the regulatory schedule." Currently, there is "uncertainty" about the meetings for 2025, "since, to date, the committee meetings and plenary sessions scheduled for this year have not been announced or convened." "This lack of foresight and transparency seriously affects the CGCEE's ability to fulfill its functions, weakens institutional dialogue with Spanish citizens abroad, and generates a feeling of abandonment among the councilors representing the Spanish regions outside the country," warns Sumar, a minority partner in the coalition government. In its response, filed on September 19 and published this Monday in the Official Gazette of the Cortes Generales, the Government admits that the General Council of Spanish Citizens Abroad must hold "at least one ordinary plenary session each year" and that in 2024 the Council's plenary session, "which is mandatory," could not be held, although the delegated committees did. The reason for this non-compliance is, according to the Executive, the "lack of budgetary availability," since the budget allocated to the operation of the General Council of Spanish Citizens Abroad does not have a specific application and is charged to item 226.06 of Chapter 231 B of Program "Actions in Favor of Emigrants," of the State Secretariat for Migration, managed by the General Directorate of Spanish Citizens Abroad. The aforementioned program remains at the same amounts as in 2022, "due to the absence of any increase in the 2023 General State Budget Law and the fact that it has undergone two successive budget extensions in 2024 and 2025," it continues. The costs of holding these events, according to the Executive, include travel and accommodation expenses for the councillors from various countries, through the centralized contract between the General State Administration and Viajes El Corte Inglés. Added to this are the costs of attendance compensation for the councillors and other possible travel expenses not included in the centralized contract with the General State Administration, such as taxis for travel between their homes and the airport or between their hotels and the airport. "Therefore, with the current budget availability in Chapter 2 of Program 231B, it is impossible to accommodate the in-person holding of delegated committees and a Plenary Session of the General Council of Spanish Citizens Abroad in the same fiscal year," the Government warns. Nor has it been possible to divert funds for this purpose through budget modifications from other items, since these modifications "have had to prioritize the two emergency declarations to accommodate vulnerable Spanish citizens evacuated from the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, and for which there is no specific application in Program 231B as the situation of having to accommodate Spanish citizens displaced from a conflict zone has never previously arisen." Furthermore, a very high percentage of all Program 231B items are dedicated to covering welfare benefits for Spanish nationals residing abroad and returning in vulnerable situations. "There is a clear will on the part of the Administration to ensure the regular holding of plenary sessions and the delegated committees of the General Council of Spanish Citizens Abroad," but the lack of available funding has "prevented their holding," the Government asserts. "Possible solutions include the approval of a General State Budget Law that introduces a stable budget allocation, with sufficient allocation in Program 231B, dedicated to the General Council of Spanish Citizens Abroad," it added.
