The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, defends in Gran Canaria the cooperation with the countries of origin and transit of migration as the “essential factor” to fight against the mafias that traffic people.

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Reinforcement of Spanish deployment in Senegal

The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, together with the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva JohanssonThe Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, together with the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, during his visit to the Canary Islands.
The deployment of the State Security Forces and Corps in Senegal has stopped 46 per cent of irregular arrivals to the Canary Islands in the last two months, with the interception of 59 boats and 7,213 people on the coasts of Senegal and Gambia.

This was announced this Friday by the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, who highlighted in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria the “crucial” importance in this device of the CN-235 maritime surveillance aircraft deployed in Dakar since last October 17, which was joined for 45 days by a Beechcraft Super King Air 350i in the patrol tasks from the Canary Islands.

The minister has ruled out “magic solutions and shortcuts” in migration policy and has opted for cooperation with the countries of origin and transit of migration in the fight against mafias that traffic in people as the most effective way of working to prevent illegal arrivals “and, more importantly, to prevent deaths at sea,” he added.

Grande-Marlaska has pronounced these words after the meeting he has held with the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, whom he has accompanied during his visit to Gran Canaria. The working meeting at the beginning of the day, held at the headquarters of the Government Delegation in the Canary Islands, was also attended by the President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo; the Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres; the Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Elma Saiz; the Belgian Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration, Nicole de Moor; and the Government Delegate in the Canary Islands, Anselmo Pestana.

The Minister thanked Johansson for “the enormous work and effort” developed by the Commission so that the migratory phenomenon in Europe is understood “as a challenge and not as a threat”, and to advance towards a common migratory pact. “The border limits of Spain are also the borders of Europe, and migration must be a responsibility shared by the 27 Member States and not only by the countries of first entry,” said Grande-Marlaska.

During his speech, he also praised the coordination between administrations to manage migration in the Canary Islands and highlighted the importance of the five meetings of the Coordination Authority for Immigration in the Canary Islands held since September, which have become, in the Minister’s opinion, “a very useful forum to consolidate and grease the mechanisms and procedures for collaboration in migratory matters”.

After the meeting at the Government Delegation in the Canary Islands, the European Commissioner will also visit the Regional Coordination Center of the Canary Islands of the Civil Guard, where the Minister of the Interior will explain the work carried out by the Coordination Authority, chaired by Lieutenant General Juan Luis Pérez.

Afterwards, the delegation will travel to the Temporary Attention Center for Foreigners (CATE) of Barranco Seco, managed by the National Police. In these facilities, the initial reception of migrants is carried out for a maximum period of 72 hours, until they are referred to the social and reception services.