The president of the Government of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, highlighted this Friday the "important effort" deployed in recent days to deal with the migration crisis that El Hierro is experiencing. Although weather conditions have caused a slight decrease in the number of pateras reaching the island, the leader stressed that migrant people are still arriving.
"After the conversation held with the Government of Spain, the visit to Senegal by the Ministry of the Interior, and the meeting I held with the ambassador of Senegal in Madrid, I think that an important effort has been made visible," the regional president said in statements to the media.
Clavijo made these remarks at the end of the Bilateral Commission held at the headquarters of the Presidency of the Government, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, convened following the agreement for airport co-management in the archipelago.
During his address, he recalled that the regional executive maintains constant monitoring of what is happening on the island, especially after the commitments made this week with the State Administration. In this sense, he highlighted the strengthening of personnel of the National Police and expressed his satisfaction because the planned health reinforcement is already "in process" for contracting.
The head of the Canary Islands executive also said that next Monday he will hold a conversation with the Minister of Territorial Policy, Ángel Víctor Torres, with the aim of reviewing the deadlines and the degree of compliance with the measures agreed after the celebration of the Extraordinary Interministerial on Immigration in Madrid.
"The situation we are suffering in El Hierro is not a one-off, but rather reflects a structural element. We hope and desire that these agreements are being carried into effect and that they are leaving in place a practically stable structure to manage future migration peaks," the Canary Islands president said.
Clavijo also explained that it is "pending" the ability to condition in La Restinga a complementary space, on plots adjacent to the port, with the purpose of "freeing up space" and thus helping to reduce the impact that the current migration crisis is having on the economic activity in the area.
With regard to the financial compensation for the consequences of this situation on the island, the president acknowledged that the specific mechanism for channeling them has still not been defined, that is, whether they will be managed through the Cabildo, through the Government of Canarias itself, or directly from the General Administration of the State. In any event, he trusted that next Monday the Ministry of Finance will clarify the procedure and be able to implement the aid "as soon as possible."