Noticias del Gobierno de Canarias: Reunión sobre impacto de la “emergencia migratoria” en la frontera sur.

Fernando Clavijo and Manuel Domínguez expose in El Hierro to members of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs the impact of the «migration emergency» on the southern border

The President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, demanded on Tuesday «a European strategy» for the care of migrant children and adolescents in the framework of a meeting, attended by the Vice President of the Canarian Government, Manuel Domínguez, with a delegation from the European Parliament dispatched to the Canary Islands to learn about the impact of the Atlantic Route on the archipelago.

This meeting comes after a request from the head of the Canarian Executive to the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), responsible for addressing asylum and migration policies of the European Union, to visit the islands in order to bring the dimension of the migratory flows of the Atlantic Route closer and give voice to local institutions, third sector entities, the economic sectors affected, in short, to the Canarian people who «every day give a lesson in humanity, care, welcome, and solidarity to the world,» emphasized President Clavijo.

The President of the Canary Islands highlighted the importance of a delegation of MEPs being able to firsthand experience a reality that has been repeating since 2019. In this context, he pointed out that in the Canary Islands, it is necessary for Europe to distinguish between adult and minor migrants when applying the European Migration and Asylum Plan starting from next summer.

After thanking the President of the LIBE Committee, Javier Zarzalejo, and the rest of the MEPs for their visit to El Hierro, Fernando Clavijo emphasized the impact of migratory flows on the archipelago, especially on El Hierro, which has received 6,200 migrants during 2025, more than half of the 10,882 people who have arrived in the Canary Islands so far this year.

Faced with this reality, the head of the Canarian Government urged MEPs to work so that the EU can directly distribute its funds allocated for migration among the regions, which is not currently happening as it is the States that distribute the resources they receive from Brussels. Clavijo recalled that last year, the Canary Islands allocated 190 million euros to cover the expenses generated by the care of migrants, while the Spanish Government only transferred 50 million euros.

The Canarian President detailed during the meeting the management of his Government in the care and protection of unaccompanied minors arriving on the islands and emphasized that, despite the regulatory progress in Spain, still pending implementation, the «situation of these children and young people and the fulfillment of their rights have not been deeply addressed by the EU.»

He also took advantage of the working meeting with the MEPs to request from the EU a «true policy of cooperation and development» with Africa, as long as living conditions in the neighboring continent do not improve, «people will continue to risk their lives getting on a boat.»

After the meeting, the Vice President of the Canarian Government thanked the LIBE Committee for being «interested, concerned, and involved» in the migratory situation in the Canary Islands. As Manuel Domínguez explained, the MEPs have expressed their concern about «what is happening with the economic resources that Europe has and that the State must request to reach the Canary Islands, which has not been happening so far.»

In addition, the number two of the autonomous Government emphasized the need to improve border control and address «the reduction in services that the Canary Islands have due to the diversion of material and human resources to the care of migrants.» «They have taken good note, I hope and wish that from now on there will be an immediate response not only from the EU but also from the State,» explained the Vice President after the meeting.

The mission of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) was led by its President, Javier Zarzalejos, and responds to the offensive promoted by the President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, in the European institutions in order to address the migration emergency in the islands and the situation of the Canary Islands as the European external border. The European delegation also includes MEPs Krystztof Brejza, Dolores Montserrat, Gabriel Mato, Juan Fernando López Aguilar, Cecilia Strada, Susanna Ceccardi, Jorge Buxadé, Nicolas Bay, Diego Solier, and Fabienne Keller.