Frontex says it can do more in the Canary Islands but needs an official request from Sánchez

Leijtens – who recently visited Madrid and the islands to address the crisis – has admitted that The situation in the Canary Islands is “very worrying” due to the “huge increase” in irregular arrivals, which in his opinion has a “structural”. According to Frontex data, Migratory pressure on the islands increased by 154% during the first seven months of the year. A figure that contrasts with the 40% decline in the European Union as a whole.

At this time, the European Border and Coast Guard 60 troops have already been deployed in the Canary Islandswho assist local authorities with “key tasks” such as registering and fingerprinting migrants, as well as providing translation services and conducting interviews with migrants.

[Clavijo lleva al Parlamento Europeo la “emergencia” migratoria en Canarias: Frontex pide intervenir]

However, the Frontex director has insisted that The agency is fully prepared to offer further supportalthough it adds that any new deployment or increased participation depends on formal requests from the Spanish Government. As part of the regular procedure for planning its operations for the coming year, the European Border and Coast Guard is now awaiting requests from Spain for 2025.

“I hope we are allowed and required to provide this support.“That is really necessary. I have seen it with my own eyes: I have been in reception centres, I have gone to the coast, I have spoken to the Civil Guard. I am fully aware of this. But everything starts with a request from the Spanish government. If that is missing, I cannot support Spain,” said Leijtens in response to a question from the PP MEP. Juan Ignacio Zoido.

In his speech, Zoido criticized the Sánchez Government precisely for not having requested more help from Frontex. “Despite multiple warnings, The Spanish Government has not provided the necessary means to avoid the crisis and now it intends to dump its responsibility on the autonomous community of the Canary Islands,” he denounced. In his opinion, the situation in the islands is “unsustainable” and there is “tremendous alarm.”

For his part, the director of Frontex has also admitted that, unlike Spain, cannot intervene on the coasts of the countries of origin and transit (such as Senegal, Mauritania and Gambia) because lacks legal basis for this.

“From what I have heard in Madrid and the Canary Islands, I understand that the main focus right now is to work with countries of origin and transit. But in this we are quite limited due to the lack of a legal framework, that is, an agreement with Senegal, Mauritania and Gambia. We are trying to find, not loopholes, because that sounds illegal, but ways to contribute,” he said.

The Frontex director has also called on the Member States and the European Parliament to provide more surveillance equipment, drones, planes and helicopters. After hearing him, the leader of the PP in the European Parliament, Dolors Montserrathas announced that it will request that the migration crisis in the Canary Islands be included in one of the next plenary sessions of the European Parliament.