EU focus on irregular migration in Mediterranean ignores Canary Islands, claims president
Fernando Clavijo met Residence Affairs Commissioner Magnus Brunner in Strasbourg. “Whenever you shut one door, migrants exit from one other.”
The Canary Islands suffers from much less focus from the EU than the Mediterranean in relation to irregular migration, regardless of experiencing the most important quantity ever of arrivals by sea, the island’s regional authorities’s President Fernando Clavijo mentioned throughout a gathering with Residence Affairs Commissioner Magnus Brunner in Strasbourg on Tuesday.
“We demand solidarity as a result of migrants aren’t touchdown within the Canary Islands or Spain; they’re touchdown in Europe,” Clavijo advised Euronews earlier than the assembly, throughout which Brunner assured him that he would journey to the Canary Islands to evaluate the scenario.
In an interview with Euronews, the Spanish area’s president claimed that the EU has been specializing in addressing the migration subject within the Mediterranean Sea whereas ignoring his territory.
“This works like speaking vessels: the EU has shielded the Mediterranean, and once you shut a door, migrants exit from one other,” he argued. “Now we’ve an accumulation of individuals able to sail from nations like Morocco, Gambia, Senegal, and particularly Mauritania. We ask to be handled with the identical measures adopted for the Mediterranean.”
Certainly, the so-called “Atlantic route” or “Western Africa route” noticed nearly 47,000 arrivals in 2024, a rise of 18% in comparison with 2023. Based on NGO Caminando Fronteras, 9,757 folks died in 2024 alongside this route, whereas the Worldwide Group for Migration (IOM) recorded 1,062 victims.
This improve occurred as flows of irregular migrants decreased alongside a number of different routes to Europe, marking a big 38% drop in irregular border crossings into the EU in 2024 in comparison with the earlier 12 months.
Whereas some nations like Italy or Greece noticed fewer folks irregularly crossing their borders or touchdown on their shores, the Canary Islands face “absolute overflow”, as Clavijo described it.
At present, migrants primarily arrive in El Hierro, the westernmost of the Canary Islands. Adults stay on common 10–15 days within the archipelago earlier than being transferred to mainland Spain. Nonetheless, unaccompanied minors are hosted the place they arrive, because the Spanish structure assigns accountability for them to every regional neighborhood.
At current, Canary Islands authorities are internet hosting 5,812 unaccompanied minors, a thousand of whom are anticipated to be granted refugee standing. “It’s unfair that just one authorities has to bear all of the stress with out figuring out how many individuals will come or for a way lengthy,” Clavijo mentioned, emphasizing that El Hierro Island has a inhabitants of 10,000 however noticed nearly 30,000 arrivals final 12 months. “Though the Canarian folks have a historical past of emigration and perceive what it means, there’s already some discontent.”
Distribution of migrants and Frontex on African shores
To alleviate stress on his islands, Fernando Clavijo has particular requests for Madrid and Brussels. On a nationwide degree, he desires to ascertain an automated distribution mechanism for migrants as quickly because the reception capability of a regional neighborhood is exceeded. Moreover, he requires an “extraordinary distribution” to relocate a big variety of minors and the allocation of sufficient monetary assets from the central authorities to handle the upcoming flows.
If Pedro Sánchez’s authorities fails to supply options, the connection with Madrid will deteriorate, and tensions will rise, Clavijo warned. The Canary Islands authorities claims it solely obtained €50 million to handle the internet hosting of unaccompanied minors, whereas the assets wanted quantity to €184 million, he claimed.
Clavijo belongs to the regional social gathering Coalición Canaria, and his coalition consists of the centre-right Partido Well-liked, whereas Prime Minister Sánchez leads PSOE, Spain’s socialist social gathering.
On the European degree, Clavijo’s fundamental requests embrace redistributing migrants arriving within the Canary Islands amongst EU member states, deploying the European Border and Coast Guard (Frontex) to the Atlantic islands, and dealing with African nations to stop departures. “Distributing 5,800 minors inside Europe is a superbly manageable quantity. However concentrating all of them in a fragmented and distant territory makes it inconceivable to adequately look after them,” he said.
Clavijo hopes the EU can strike a cope with Western African nations, just like agreements with Tunisia or Egypt. He famous that the €210 million promised to Mauritania by Ursula von der Leyen one 12 months in the past as a part of a partnership has but to succeed in the nation.
In his view, these offers ought to focus extra on creating native economies than merely stopping folks from leaving their nations. “There shall be no partitions or border protections sturdy sufficient to cease folks from in search of a future,” he mentioned.
Clavijo additionally advocates for sending Frontex officers to Western African nations and Canary Island shores to save lots of lives by stopping departures within the former and rescuing folks at sea within the latter.
Nonetheless, deploying the EU Coast Guard to a selected space requires a request from a reliable nationwide authorities, which Spain has but to make. Brunner promised Clavijo he would talk about the matter with Spanish authorities at a gathering scheduled for February 17.
Frontex’s presence in a 3rd nation is extra advanced to rearrange, because it requires a working settlement between the EU and the nation, permitted by the Council and the European Parliament. At present, the one African states the place Frontex can function are Nigeria and Cape Verde.
