The 2024 Agreement between the European Agency for Cooperation and Cooperation at Borders (FRONTEX) and Spain was updated at the last minute on Monday 29 January. Meanwhile, Spain set a new record for arrivals last weekend, with more than 1,200 migrants arriving in the Canary Islands.
On Monday, the Spanish government and FRONTEX signed an agreement at the eleventh hour to resume joint operations against illegal migration in the Alboran Sea and off the coast of the Canary Islands.
These operations were suspended on January 24th after Spain could not agree to the annual plan proposed by FRONTEX.
Meanwhile, the wave of migrants continues, with a record 1,200 migrants disembarking in the Canary Islands last weekend.
Overcome data ownership issues
Spain was the only EU country that failed to sign the FRONTEX agreement within the set deadline. A source at Spain’s Interior Ministry said the country was concerned about “losing responsibility” for migration data, the Spanish daily reported. el pais.
The compromise reached on Monday will give Spain full control over its most sensitive immigration data. el pais I will report.
FRONTEX conducts sea and air patrol operations jointly with Madrid.
At least five migrants died over the weekend
More than 1,200 migrants arrived at ports in the Canary Islands over the weekend in dinghies and rafts, rescue team officials said.
On Saturday, six boats carrying a total of 600 migrants arrived in El Hierro, Tenerife and Gran Canaria.
Another 600 sub-Saharan migrants, many women and children, disembarked from six dinghies and boats at dawn on Sunday and arrived in El Hierro and Gran Canaria.
At least four people died while crossing the sea from North Africa to the archipelago, according to eyewitness accounts. The fifth person died during treatment at a hospital after arriving on El Hierro.
At least 4,400 migrants arrived on Spanish shores in the first weeks of January.
This figure is higher than the total of 4,141 migrants arriving in four other Mediterranean countries (Greece, Italy, Cyprus and Malta), according to figures shared by the United Nations refugee agency.
The West African route to the Canary Islands has recorded the highest increase in irregular migration flows of all migration routes to the continent, according to a FRONTEX report.
More than 40,403 migrants arrived in the archipelago in 2023, an increase of 161 percent compared to 2022.