Balearics migration pressure: Prohens takes case to EU

Marga Prohens will take the Balearic Islands’ migration pressure back to the European Union in October. The regional president has a meeting planned with European Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica. She announced it on Friday after the Consell de Govern meeting on Llatzeret island, Menorca.

Prohens says the meeting will cover problems affecting Mediterranean regions, including migration to the Balearic Islands. It comes about a year after her meeting with European Commissioner for Home Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner, when the regional government called for Frontex to be activated in the archipelago.

Push for EU resources

The Balearic government is also arranging further meetings in Brussels to seek resources to manage migration flows. Prohens said her administration feels “more abandoned than ever” on migration policy.

She criticised the State Secretary for Migration, Pilar Cancela, for visiting without meeting the regional government. Prohens urged Cancela to see the port facilities that were meant to be temporary, and to meet mayors in the towns where boats arrive.

Doubts over Madrid’s plans

Prohens said she did not know whether resources in the Balearic Islands would be increased, despite Cancela’s remarks. She also questioned the figures Cancela gave on the extraordinary migrant regularisation process, saying the central government has not published official data.

The president said the priority should be the 25,000 long-term unemployed people in the Balearic Islands who cannot find work. She warned against adding to demographic pressure while housing and public services face further demand.

Topics: Migration · Jobs & labour · Politics

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com