The Canarian authorities are hoping that a high-level meeting with the Spanish government today will secure a deal to help resolve at least the funding of the care needed for the large numbers of unaccompanied young migrants who arrive in the Islands every year.
Although it has long been acknowledged that the Canaries have been at breaking point for several years in terms of the capacity to accommodate the young arrivals, political squabbles at national level have prevented a definitive agreement on the onward distribution of the minors to other parts of the country, where there is considerable reluctance to share the burden of looking after them.
Today’s meeting was due to take place in February but was postponed due to the ill health of Spanish Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister María Jesús Montero. Canarian president Fernando Clavijo sees it as vital to decide the best course of action for the estimated 4000 unaccompanied minors currently in the care of the authorities here.
The regional government is keen to kickstart negotiations on a definitive deal to relocate the young migrants to other Spanish regions. The Canaries have been battling for over a year to have Spain’s Immigration Law to be amended to make it obligatory for other parts of the country to take their share of arrivals, even if the migrants do not physically land on their territory.
In the absence of an agreement on onward distribution, it is hoped that funding (perhaps 100-140 euros per day per minor) will at least be agreed to alleviate the financial burden shouldered by the Canaries. Canarian government spokesman Alfonso Cabello said the situation was becoming increasingly urgent: ‘the youngsters keep on arriving, our temporary centres are saturated, and there is simply nowhere for them to go’.
The crunch meeting in Madrid comes after a weekend that saw yet more migrant boats arrive in the Canaries from the coast of Africa. Saturday alone brought seven arrivals with a total of 452 migrants, including several children.
Photo: RTVE.es
