VALVERDE (EL HIERRO), 19 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Vice-President of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas, along with the Minister for Social Welfare, Equality, Youth, Children and Families of the regional government, Candelaria Delgado, and the Director General for Relations with Africa, Luis Padilla, visited El Hierro this Thursday to gain first-hand insight into the challenges posed by the migration crisis.
This visit follows a meeting with the President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, where an additional 14 million euros were pledged to mitigate the expenses associated with hosting migrants, alongside allowing Spain to exceptionally access the resources of the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for migration policies.
Delgado highlighted, in a statement from the Ministry, that “the objective of this meeting is for community bodies to become cognizant of the scale of the issue that the Canary Islands are facing, which is even more pronounced on an island like El Hierro, where there has been a marked rise in migrant arrivals in recent months.”
In this context, he elaborated that, up to this point in the year, roughly 14,000 migrants have landed on this island, a figure that is likely to surpass the total for 2023, when 14,535 individuals arrived.
The minister emphasised the significance of the Vice-President of the European Commission recognising the inadequacies in both human resources and infrastructure to cater to all the individuals arriving and reiterated the considerable efforts being made by the Government of the Canary Islands, local administrations, and NGOs involved in assisting migrants.
He also conveyed his hope that, following this visit, the European authorities will push for the execution of effective measures to tackle this challenging situation.
During the visit to El Hierro, Margaritis Schinas and her accompanying delegation met in La Restinga with representatives from the Cabildo of El Hierro and the municipalities of Valverde, Frontera, and El Pinar, as well as other organisations involved in migrant support, including the Canary Islands Health Service, Civil Protection, Maritime Rescue, Civil Guard, and the Red Cross.
Throughout the meeting, the European delegation gained firsthand knowledge of how migrant arrivals are managed, the challenges encountered, and the needs identified to better address this situation.
During their time in El Hierro, they also toured the juvenile centre in Valverde, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Autonomous Community.
