The Basque Government has called for 1.33 million euros in aid for the reception of migrants

The Department of Welfare, Youth and Demographic Challenges of the Basque Government has approved the 2026 call for aid for municipal entities in the Basque Country to finance activities in the field of migrant reception and intercultural coexistence. The call was published in the Official Gazette of the Basque Country (BOPV) number 165, on August 31, 2026, under reference 2026/3743.

The Order signed by Minister Nerea Melgosa Vega on July 1, 2026, approves the bases and opens the call under a competitive regime for the 2026 event. The grants are framed within Law 20/2023 (regulating the Subsidy Regime) and Law 7/2025 (2026 budgets), and respond to Commitment 56 of the Government Program of the XIII Legislature, regarding the commitment to the integration of migrants and refugees.

Beneficiaries and funding

The call has a budget of 1,330,000 euros for 2026, and the following may be beneficiaries:

• Local Entities in the Basque Country (municipalities).
• Local Autonomous Bodies in the Basque Country.
• Local Mercantile Societies in the Basque Country, provided that the share capital is public and the partners are mainly Basque municipalities.

Each entity may receive a maximum of 50,000 euros, and the funding is up to 75%, as beneficiaries must make a contribution of at least 25%. The grants are not compatible with those granted by other departments of the Government, but they are compatible with those granted by other public or private administrations, provided that no overfunding occurs.

Reception and integration projects

Activities that can be subsidized include reception and coexistence plans, the implementation of reception services, the creation of exchange spaces, the social integration of migrants, and interventions based on community networks. Projects must follow the principles of the VI Intercultural Citizenship, Immigration and Asylum Plan 2022-2025.

Evaluation and deadlines

Applications must be submitted within a period of one month, starting from the day following the publication in the BOPV, and the processing is entirely electronic, through the electronic headquarters of the Basque administration. The resolution must be notified within six months, and, once that period has passed, it will be considered dismissed by administrative silence.

The Evaluation Committee consists of three technicians: Aitor Eguinoa Isasmendi, Laura Tejedor Andrés, and Miren Uxue Arbe Blanco (secretary), with Unai Aspuru Zuazo and Francisco Javier de la Fuente Pereda as substitutes. Projects must achieve a rating higher than 50 points to be subsidized, and the criteria include the reception project, the learning of Basque as an integration mechanism, the fight against discrimination, and the gender perspective.

This period is of particular importance for the municipalities of the Basque Country, as local administrations are the space where the daily interactions of migrants occur and where gaps in integration policies are revealed. The regulations of Ley 12/2008 (Social Services) and Ley 2/2016 (Local Entities of the Basque Country) assign functions of reception, orientation, and social integration to the municipalities, and these supports are essential to guarantee specialized technical resources that exceed ordinary municipal powers.

Fuente: Official Gazette of the Basque Country, no. 165, August 31, 2026, Other Provisions (official reference: 2026/3743).