Madrid must pass refugee policy to Barcelona, says Supreme Court

Spain's Supreme Court has rejected the appeal by the Spanish government for it to keep hold of the powers for accepting refugees, which the high court says is the responsibility of the autonomous communities.

According to the 'Ara' newspaper, and confirmed by the Catalan government, the court's decision in October ruled that "the management of the services and programs addressed at asylum claimants in the health, education and social spheres," is down to each community.

In fact, the newspaper also says that in all there are some 17 sentences related to this issue in which the high court has ruled in favor of the autonomous communities.   

What's more, the report says that the rulings, which have just been ratified by the court, stipulate that the cost of programs for asylum seekers must be shouldered by the central government, potentially some 18 million euros.

Meanwhile, the Catalan and Spanish governments have met to tackle the issue, with the executive in Madrid reportedly accepting that policy for taking in refugees should fall to Barcelona, as the court has ruled.

Catalonia is dealing with around 2,200 refugees, some 1,950 of whom, according to the official sources cited by the newspaper, are part of the state's asylum seeker program that in the future will be handled by the Catalan government.