Laurence Dollimore
MULTIPLE regions in Spain have demanded action after reaching ‘breaking point’ in terms of boat migrant arrivals.
In the southernmost region of Andalucia, the economy minister Carolina España told journalists on Wednesday that housing or accommodation for migrants is at a ‘115% occupancy rate’.
España said the region, which sits across from Africa via the Strait of Gibraltar, has asked for ‘greater support’ from Madrid.
It comes as Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is set to meet with the President of the Canary Islands Fernando Clavijo on Friday to discuss the issue.
España said the meeting was long overdue but ‘better late than never’.
She told journalists in Malaga: “The President of the Government has had time to hold the Lanzarote summit with Mr. Illa and Mr. Rodríguez Zapatero, but he has not yet had time to receive the President of the Canary Islands, who has serious problems with migration.”
España, from the conservative Partido Popular party, is demanding ‘greater controls’ at the borders and ‘more funds’ for regional governments to tackle the issue of arriving boat migrants.
She said: “Andalucia is already at 115% occupancy. We are one of the autonomous communities that has received the most migration from Ceuta and the Canary Islands… of course we would like to receive greater support from the Government.
“With the issue of migration, of course, action must be taken at the source, but once these people arrive in our country, when they arrive in our autonomous communities, they must be attended to.”
In the first two weeks of August, migrant arrivals from Africa to Spain reached record levels, surging by 126% in the Canary Islands and by 143% in the north African enclave of Ceuta.
The majority of migrants arrived from Mauritiana and the Sahel region, which is seeing an escalation of violence, sparking the displacement of thousands of people.
According to the latest figures, some 1,033 people arrived to the coasts of Spain between August 1 and 15, spread across at least 72 boats. It came after a total of 1,698 arrived in Spain in July.
In the first eight months of 2024, a total of 31,155 migrants arrived in Spain, representing a 66.2% increase year-on-year.
