On Wednesday, the President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, once again called on the Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, to hold a coordination meeting to address the increase in the number of migrants arriving in small boats or canoes, more than 6,000 in October alone, and its impact on islands such as El Hierro and Lanzarote.
Speaking on his arrival in Guadeloupe, a French territory in the Caribbean, to attend the summit of the European Union’s outermost regions (ORs), Clavijo described Sánchez’s response to the letter he had sent him, asking him to take action and increase resources, as «disappointing».
The President of the Canary Islands says he has been disappointed because, according to him, Sánchez’s response does not address his demands, but merely lists the measures that the Spanish Government has implemented in the Canary Islands in this area in recent years.
Migration: Clavijo criticises Sánchez's response as inadequate
«What he’s telling me is what has been done. We already know that, and in some cases, little has been done and what has been done has been done poorly. However, what we’ve asked him is for us to sit down with the institutions, the ministries and whoever is coordinating the response to plan what needs to be done,» says Fernando Clavijo.
The President of the Canary Islands has expressed his annoyance at this response and has remarked ironically that the Spanish Government has done so much on the issue of migration in the Canary Islands that his administration had to take it to the Supreme Court «for its utter neglect of the children and young people who fell within its remit», namely, asylum seekers.
El Hierro: Clavijo plans a fresh attempt at organising a coordination meeting
However, he has announced that he will attempt to get back in touch with La Moncloa with a view to arranging «a coordination meeting between governments to discuss the situation on El Hierro», where the relentless arrival of small boats (eight this Wednesday alone, carrying almost 700 people) is putting pressure on the healthcare system, as well as in Lanzarote, another island that has been receiving arrivals of migrants in inflatable boats in recent months.
«We would have liked a slightly more proactive response, rather than simply stating what has been done. If that were the case, I wouldn’t be sending you a letter,» he concluded.
Clavijo has expressed regret that, following a month in which almost twice as many people arrived in the Canary Islands on makeshift boats as in the entire first half of the year (6,194 compared with 3,708), neither has the Security Committee been convened nor have they been told which ministries they can meet with to coordinate a response.
The President of the Canary Islands has announced that he will take advantage of the fact that the Vice-President of the European Commission, Rafael Fitto, will be in Guadeloupe over the next few days to explain the situation on the islands to him and express his «concern» to the EU authorities.
Comments (0)
No comments on this article yet.