The President of the Canary Islands proposes the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs due to the “extreme” circumstances facing the archipelago.
SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 4 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, has addressed a letter this Wednesday to the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, in which he requests an appearance before MEPs to elucidate the “extreme” situation currently confronting the islands and to seek the European Union’s (EU) assistance regarding the migratory crisis.
The objective for the leader of the regional government is to relay directly to European parliamentarians the “emergency conditions” in which the Canary Islands find themselves, as they are facing alone “the most significant migration crisis in our history.”
In his correspondence, Fernando Clavijo suggests that Metsola present before the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) or any other committee within the European Parliament she deems suitable.
The letter to the President of the European Parliament underscores that the archipelago is currently experiencing unprecedented arrivals of cayucos, which presents an “enormous impact” on all fronts, “as it already endures the challenges of being in an ultraperipheral region, and the ramifications of the massive influx of migrants pose a considerable challenge that must undoubtedly be tackled with the backing and a coordinated approach among all institutions, at the regional, national, and European levels.”
From January 1 to August 31 of this year, the Canary Islands have received 25,554 migrants, marking an increase of 123% compared to the same period in 2023, a year in which 39,910 individuals arrived at the archipelago by sea, according to a note from the Executive.
This figure is already 154% above that recorded in 2022 and surpassed the historical peak reached during the ‘cayuco crisis’ of 2006.
“COMPLETELY UNSUSTAINABLE” SITUATION
Clavijo emphasised to Metsola that the Canary Islands, as Europe’s southern frontier, serve as a gateway to European territory for many migrants journeying from West African shores, via the ‘Atlantic Route’, which is “one of the deadliest migration paths globally, where many individuals lose their lives in their attempts to reach European soil.”
According to NGO statistics, a migrant loses their life en route to the Canary Islands every 45 minutes.
In particular, the head of the Canarian Executive highlighted to the President of the European Parliament the “completely unsustainable” predicament the islands are facing due to the rising influx of unaccompanied migrant minors, with approximately 5,500 children currently housed in centres across the archipelago.
The letter sent on Wednesday to the re-elected President of the European Parliament complements the initiatives being undertaken by the Government of the Canary Islands to “urge support, unity, and solidarity” in pursuit of “a collective response to this migration challenge, which is not solely the responsibility of the regions at the frontline, akin to external borders, and requires a synchronised multi-tiered response,” Clavijo explained to Metsola.
DIPLOMATIC OFFENSIVE
As part of this strategy, the President of the Canary Islands has already invited the President of the European Commission on two occasions to witness the migration crisis firsthand.
The first of these instances was when Ursula von der Leyen visited Lampedusa in September 2023, and the latter was just last week in response to the sharp rise in boat arrivals and the overwhelming demand on the system for accommodating minors.
Fernando Clavijo also appealed to the Pope to visit the archipelago to bring international attention to the migration crisis during their meeting on January 15 in Rome, mirroring a previous invitation extended to the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ilva Johansson, on November 17 last year, who ultimately visited the Canary Islands a month later.
On April 17, the President of the Canary Islands met in Brussels with Josep Borrell, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, to acquire direct insights into his geopolitical assessments of Africa, particularly in regard to the turbulent Sahel region.
In November 2023, the European Parliament also conducted a series of meetings with the main parliamentary groups to ensure that the Atlantic Route receives attention comparable to that of the Mediterranean Route in the European Pact on Migration and Asylum, which received approval last April following extensive negotiations.