Surge in Migration to Canary Islands Raises Tensions

Calm seas have led to a surge of migrants heading from Western Africa to the Canary Islands. Spain intercepted multiple boats, adding to the high number of arrivals this week. The influx has strained local infrastructure and raised tensions between regional and central governments over care for underage migrants.

Calm seas and gentle winds associated with the late summer in the Atlantic Ocean off Western Africa have prompted a renewed surge of migrants heading to the Canary Islands, local authorities said on Thursday.

Spain intercepted four boats carrying 222 migrants early on Thursday, in addition to the 13 vessels with 780 migrants that had already reached the islands this week, the Spanish maritime rescue services reported on the platform X. "The favourable sea conditions are driving a significant increase in arrivals," Fernando Clavijo, the Canary Islands' regional president, said on state-owned television.

The flow of migrants to the Spanish archipelago, which has 2.2 million inhabitants, has raised tensions between the regional administration and the central government over the care of about 5,000 underage migrants. Spanish regulation requires local authorities to house migrants aged under 18, but infrastructure in the Canary Islands is overwhelmed and Clavijo has repeatedly asked the central government to force other regions to help.

Clavijo said he was optimistic the left-wing minority government was close to a deal with the conservative People's Party (PP) to allow the transfer of underage migrants to the Spanish mainland. A previous attempt to reach a deal prompted the far-right Vox party to walk out of coalitions with the PP. PP's leader Alberto Nunez Feijoo met Italy's Prime Minister Meloni on Thursday. In the past, he has praised her hard line on migration.

In the first seven months of 2024, the number of migrants crossing from Africa to the Canary Islands nearly doubled from the same period last year to 26,758, data from Spain's Interior Ministry shows. Last month, Clavijo said charity groups estimated that as many as 150,000 more migrants were preparing a crossing from Western Africa.

In Italy, by contrast, the number of migrant arrivals has fallen following a pact between the European Union and Tunisia last year. Italy plans to open migrant processing camps in Albania in the coming weeks.

(With inputs from agencies.)