The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, addressed the European Parliament this Friday, where he asked that the “maritime surveillance by Frontex in the African waters of the Atlantic” and described its response to the migration crisis as “disappointing”.
This is how the head of the Interior responded in a letter to the letter. that the Civil Liberties Committee of the European Parliament spoke to him on Wednesday to explain why the Spanish government was not requesting help from Frontex in the Canary Islands, after its executive director, Hans Leijtens, said a few weeks ago that he was waiting for the request due to the migratory pressure that the islands were experiencing. .
In the said letter, Grande-Marlaska reiterated that the government had requested assistance from Frontex in a “reiterated” to deal with irregular immigration, but clarified that this request was not aimed at increasing the strength of the European agency in the Canary Islands but at sending surveillance resources to Africa.
“Despite the lack of support from Frontex on what the Canary Islands need as a priority, we will continue to insist on the need to focus efforts on prevention and it is for this reason that we have reiterated our request to Frontex support the EU, Spain and the Canary Islands with surveillance assets in Africa, not in waters under Spanish responsibility”, writes the minister in his response.
Likewise, he recalled that “irregular arrivals” to the Canary Islands began in mid-2020, “in the middle of a pandemic”, due to a strong flight effect from countries of origin. Something that led the Spanish government to request support from European institutions. “It has obtained the support of the European Commission, both public and financial, and, more importantly, Spain has managed to mobilize European support in favor of African countries of origin and transit,” insufficient, without embargo“, he explains.
And he maintained that among his demands, “It was always a question of recovering maritime surveillance from Frontex, in the African waters of the Atlantic.based on the model of the HERA operation, which has not been operational for years.
“Disappointing” responses
In this letter, addressed to the European Parliamentary Committee chaired by PP MEP Javier Zarzalejos, Marlaska is harsh towards the European agency due to “the absence of a positive response to the request” support requested by Spain.” Marlaska assures that the responses received “both in writing and verbally during multiple meetings, including with the Executive Director of Frontex, the current one and his predecessor, They were disappointing“.
The absence of a positive response to the request for support requested by Spain “does not mean that Spain has not repeatedly requested support from the agency”, insists the minister, before recalling that surveillance borders in coastal waters a third country requires a Frontex agreement with this country in question.
And adds: “Frontex has not achieved this objective with any African country where the boats arriving in the Canary Islands leave from”. The minister also took advantage of his letter of response to this committee of the European Parliament to emphasize that Spain “is not an exception” in matters of immigration and that this year there are other countries which record a greater number of entries of irregular migrants.
“I conclude by reiterating once again that the reasons for the increase in arrivals to the Canary Islands are not found in Spain, but in the countries of origin and transit of irregular immigration. It is therefore precisely in these countries that we must concentrate our prevention efforts. The European Parliament can undoubtedly contribute to this. Spain, including the Canary Islands, will appreciate it,” he says.
