Feijóo’s PP accuses Sánchez in the European Parliament of “putting the security of the EU at risk” due to the increase in migration

For the PP of Alberto Núñez Feijóo there is a culprit for the migratory flows that have moved towards the Canary Islands route: Pedro Sánchez. “The real call effect of the EU is called Sánchez,” said the spokesperson for the Spanish delegation, Dolors Montserrat, during a debate in the European Parliament on deportation policy across the continent. “The inaction of the Sánchez Government not only puts the security of the EU at risk but also the thousands of immigrants used by the mafias,” accused the PP MEP.

“The southern border is at risk of collapse due to the constant legacy of irregular immigrants. The mafias do not choose at random where they send the boats,” added Montserrat, who has assured that the Canary Islands, Ceuta and Melilla are the three European regions “that receive the most irregular immigration and it is not by chance.” The Canary Islands route has experienced a notable increase in arrivals, despite its danger, after a decrease in 2022. According to Frontex data collected so far this year, it has increased by 100%, reaching 30,616 people. Even so, the central Mediterranean route continues to lead with 47,710 people (a decrease of 64%). In the case of the western Mediterranean, 11,483 people have arrived (1% less than in 2023).

“The Government does not protect the borders or the State Security Forces and Bodies. “It evades international cooperation, ignores Europe and despises Frontex help,” said Montserrat. However, when the increase in flows through the Canary Islands began, the Government asked the European Commission for help, which came financially, especially for countries of origin and transit. As for Frontex, it already has 60 agents deployed for identification, investigation and intelligence work. What the extra agency offers is to patrol in Canary Islands waters, but there are already Maritime Rescue means and what Spain is demanding is that it reach agreements with Mauritania, Senegal or Gambia to be able to carry out this control in their waters.

The Spanish PP speaker has focused on Sánchez – bringing up the amnesty, ETA or the “assault on RTVE” and accusing him of “clinging to power” – her intervention on the return policy, which was what was being debated while her co-religionists They have taken the opportunity to applaud Ursula von der Leyen’s turn in opening up to the creation of deportation centers outside the EU, copying the model that Giorgia Meloni has implemented in Albania and that has been censored by the Italian justice system.

This position of the president of the European Commission has opened the first breach with her partners that has been reflected in the debate. “Von der Leyen must abandon her inhumane and illegal proposal to create deportation centers in third countries. It is unacceptable to kowtow to the extreme right to bless an immigration model that violates human rights,” warned the socialist spokesperson, Iratxe García. “65 million has been spent on the transfer of migrants. Our values ​​are not respected and it is a system that does not work. They are calling our sovereignty into question,” said liberal Valérie Hayer. “Deportation agreements and camps abroad are an inhumane, expensive and ineffective approach to a complex situation,” said Tineke Strik of the Greens.

On the contrary, the extreme right has made it clear that it is insatiable regarding the tightening of immigration policies. “Against illegal immigration, deportation; against massive illegal immigration, mass deportations,” defended Vox spokesperson Jorge Buxadé, ignoring the fact that indiscriminate deportations are outside the legal framework. The head of the delegation of the Spanish extreme right has once again linked immigration with crime and has referred to the entry of 65 Pakistanis whom he has linked to ISIS, acknowledging himself that there is no information on the matter. “Nine Muslim states have let them pass, why don’t they stay there?” he asked in a speech full of xenophobia.

It has been the same line of all the spokespersons for the extreme right. “We have to reinforce the external borders, finance border walls, finance Frontex, and a more effective return policy,” added the Polish far-right Jadwiga Wiśniewska, who has also linked migrants with terrorism or sexual crimes. “There is a cure for this evil. We have borders to monitor,” said the MEP from Reconquête! Sarah Nafoh. The representative of the PVV of the Dutch Geert Wilders Marieke Ehlers has called for “very strict migration and asylum policies” that would involve a “modernization of the treaties” in which the right to international protection is recognized.