SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, 11 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The spokesperson for the Socialist Parliamentary Group, Sebastián Franquis, has accused the President of the Government of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, of “whitewashing” the PP’s migration policies following the migration agreement signed yesterday, subsequent to his dismissal regarding the processing of proposed reforms to the immigration law.
In remarks to journalists, he cautioned that this agreement is indicative of a new “strategy” by the Canary president to “pressure” the central government, following the “spectacle” of threatening legal action and proclaiming that they would no longer accept unaccompanied migrant minors.
Franquis pointed out that “to discuss general migration policy, Congress is already available” and what the Canary Islands require is a reform of the immigration law. Moreover, many of the measures encompassed in the agreement are already being executed.
“I believe it is positive for Coalición Canaria to enter into agreements with the PP or any other political entity, but on behalf of the President of the Government of the Canary Islands, it cannot attempt to forge an agreement that holds little relevance to the Canary Islands,” he emphasised.
He stated that the central government has already “committed” to the Canary Islands by providing unused military facilities that will require refurbishment and financing the expenses related to accommodating migratory minors. What was requested of Clavijo, he contended, was to secure the “support” of the PP to advance the immigration law reform, “rather than discuss a national policy.”
Franquis fails to comprehend how “what was once a priority for the Canary Islands just last week, the crucial issue of modifying that law, can be disregarded a few weeks later as if it holds no significance,” since for the archipelago now, “it is not a priority to monitor more or less at Barajas or El Prat airports.”
In this context, he remarked that the agreement reached on Tuesday “undermines” the interests of the Canary Islands as it “blends” the necessity for the compulsory distribution of migrant minors with “national politics” and rhetoric that “Vox employs in the Congress of Deputies and which the PP has gradually adopted.”
Regarding the Conference of Presidents, he commented that if the autonomous communities governed by the PP come to an agreement, they should “bear the pressure” that the Canary Islands reception network is currently enduring and facilitate the transfers.
He has also accused Clavijo of “lying” multiple times in recent weeks, including when he claimed that Galicia and Castilla y León had offered to accept minors or concerning the meeting in August with various groups to accelerate legislative reform.
