Spanish regions seek help with surge in irregular migration

A record surge in irregular migrant arrivals from Africa is impacting regions of Spain, with the Canary Islands experiencing a 126 percent increase and the autonomous city of Ceuta on the southern side of the Strait of Gibraltar seeing a 143 percent rise in the first two weeks of August compared to the same period last year.

According to the Spanish Interior Ministry, 31,155 irregular migrants entered Spain between January and August, a 66.2 percent increase from the previous year, with the majority arriving by small boat.

The influx primarily originates from Mauritania and the Sahel region, where escalating violence is forcing thousands to flee, reported Euractiv news website.

Spain serves as a key entry point into the European Union for migrants, with routes including the perilous Atlantic journey from West Africa to the Canary Islands and crossings, including to Ceuta, at the Spanish-Moroccan border.

Experts often describe the Spain-Morocco border as one of the world's most economically unequal. World Bank data underscores this disparity, revealing a stark contrast in GDP per capita between the two nations. While Spain boasts a figure of nearly $32,677, Morocco's GDP stands at a much lower $3,672.

The migration issue has become a contentious political topic in Spain, with far-right parties including VOX using it to criticize Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's progressive socialist government.

Regional authorities are struggling to cope with the influx of illegal migrants, with the Canary Islands facing the additional challenge of accommodating almost 6,000 unaccompanied minors after receiving 22,304 migrants between January and mid-August, while Ceuta confronts what its local government describes as an "unsustainable" situation due to the arrival of hundreds of children.

In response to the crisis, regional political party Coalicion Canaria has urged immediate action from the government, calling on Sanchez to take "two hours out of his holidays to address the migration emergency".

The situation has escalated to the point where opposition leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo, head of the Spanish People's Party, has called on the government to declare a "migratory emergency", and another of the party's politicians last month suggested deploying the army to manage the crisis.

While the Western African route records unprecedented numbers, data from Frontex, the EU's external border agency, shows a 64 percent decrease in irregular journeys on the Central Mediterranean migration route to Europe during the first seven months of the year, highlighting the varying migration trends across Europe, reported Italian news agency ANSA.

Frontex said the decline in migration on this route can be linked to proactive steps taken by Libya and Tunisia, following agreements with the EU and individual governments. "Arrivals from those two countries account for 95 percent of all migrants reported on the Central Mediterranean route," it noted.

On the English Channel route to the United Kingdom, the number of detections in the first seven months of this year has increased by 22 percent, Frontex said.