Mallorca migration row: Europe not the problem
At the Parliament of the Balearic Islands in Palma, Mallorca, Antònia Maria Estarellas has attacked Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s migration policy. Speaking on 9 September, the Balearic government minister said migration pressure on the islands “does not stop growing” and insisted that “Europe is not the problem”.
She was responding to Vox MP Patricia de las Heras, who urged the regional government to denounce policies she said were creating an “effect called” — a claimed pull factor encouraging arrivals to the Balearics.
Criticism of Madrid
Estarellas said the Balearic government had long denounced what it sees as the pull factor of Sánchez’s policies and would continue to do so. She also accused Spain’s central government of “turning its back” on autonomous communities on the “front line”.
She again criticised Sánchez for allegedly failing to inform the Balearic government about reports warning of a “high risk” of further migrant arrivals in the archipelago.
Backing for the EU pact
At the same time, Estarellas praised the European Pact on Migration and Asylum. She said it brings tighter border controls, faster asylum procedures and more effective returns, adding that it was introduced thanks to the European People’s Party.
De las Heras took the opposite view. The Vox MP said Spain’s migration situation was the result of policies promoted from Brussels for years by both the People’s Party and the PSOE.
Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com