Heading to England? Canary Islands See 700 Per Cent Rise in Migrants

The Spanish Canary Islands have seen a massive 700 per cent rise in illegal migrant arrivals in 2020.

European Union Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson sounded the alarm about the surge in new migrant arrivals so far this year, saying: “In the Canary Islands, there is a 700 per cent increase compared to last year, I think. Which is obviously unsustainable.”

Spain also released figures on new arrivals on Friday, stating that as of the end of September, 6,081 migrants had arrived on the Canary Islands in 225 makeshift boats, a total increase of 523 per cent since 2019.

As migrant numbers grow in not just the Canary Islands but also in Greece and Italy in recent months, the European Union has vowed to reshape the bloc’s migrant policy and scrap the Dublin Agreement which forced asylum seekers to claim asylum in the first EU member state they set foot in.

The European Commission’s new migration pact will, instead, allow countries who do not want to take in migrants to pay to sponsor the return of those who have rejected asylum claims.