Frontex assures that it will only intervene in the Canary Islands “at the request of the Spanish Government”

Julio García -Aquí Europa The executive director of the European Border Guard (Frontex), Hans Leijtens, has assured that the migratory pressure in the Canary Islands is “very worrying” because there is “a large increase” in arrivals and has asked the central Government for political will, as well as financial and legal resources to be able to act. “I have recently been to both Madrid and the Canary Islands and have discussed with both governments the situation, which is very worrying. What we see now in Europe is that in some areas there is a decrease, but especially in the Canary Islands we see a large increase, which is structural,” said Leijtens in a speech in the European Parliament. The executive director of the European Border Guard stressed that he cannot collaborate with the central government in its desire to control migration by cooperating with the countries of origin and transit, because Frontex does not have the legal permission to do so, nor the express request of Spain. “From what I heard in Madrid and in the Canary Islands I understand that now the priority is to work with the countries of transit and origin. But here we are limited by the lack of a legal framework, that is, agreements with Senegal, Mauritania and Gambia,” said Leijtens, referring to the countries visited last week by the president of the Spanish Government, Pedro Sánchez. In this regard, Leijtens said that the agency is trying to find “not loopholes (legal), because this sounds illegal, but ways to contribute. But I depend entirely on the requests made by the Spanish authorities.” The executive director of Frontex added that he is currently negotiating cooperation with countries for the year 2025 and “I will again underline what we see, especially in the Canary Islands, and I hope that we are allowed and asked to provide the support that is so necessary.” “I have seen it with my own eyes. I have been in reception centres, I have gone to the coast, I have spoken with the Civil Guard. I am perfectly aware of this, but everything starts with a request from the Spanish Government,” he said. Since last January, 25,524 people have arrived in precarious boats (pateras and cayucos) to the Canary Islands, 123% more than the same period last year, which marked a record of almost 40,000. Clavijo asks to appear before the European Parliament The President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, yesterday asked the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, to allow him to appear before the European Parliament to explain the ‘extreme’ situation that the islands are experiencing and to demand the support of the European Union in the face of the migratory emergency. The head of government's initiative comes in addition to the invitation to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and Pope Francis to visit the archipelago, as well as the meetings already held with the EU's High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, and the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ilva Johansson. Clavijo's aim, according to the regional government, is to convey first-hand to the MEPs the ‘emergency situation’ in which the Canary Islands find themselves, facing ‘the biggest migratory crisis in our history’ on their own. In his letter, Fernando Clavijo proposes to Metsola to speak in the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) or in any other committee of the European Parliament that he deems appropriate. The letter to the President of the European Parliament reminds her that the archipelago is currently experiencing a record number of arrivals of cayuco boats ‘which represents an enormous impact at all levels in a territory such as ours, which already suffers the constraints of being an outermost region and in which the effects of the massive arrival of migrants represent a major challenge that we must address, without doubt, with the support and a coordinated strategy between all the institutions, at regional, national and European level’. From 1 January to 31 August this year, the Canary Islands have already received 25,554 migrants, which represents an increase of 123% compared to the first eight months of 2023, when 39,910 people arrived in the archipelago by sea. This figure was already 154% higher than that recorded in 2022 and broke the historic ceiling reached in the so-called ‘cayuco crisis’ of 2006.

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