The European Commission will support Spain with an additional €14 million to handle the migration situation in the Canary Islands, which by the end of August had been the landing spot for over 29,000 illegal migrants since the beginning of the year.
The announcement was made by Commission VP Margaritis Schinas at a visit to the islands on Wednesday.
“In the Canary Islands, you are not alone; Europe is at your side,” Schinas said during a press conference with regional president Fernando Clavijo.
Schinas said the EU “will continue to play an important role in the prevention of irregular arrivals by strengthening cooperation and partnership with countries of origin and transit.”
The EU has earmarked €500 million for migration-related expenses in Spain, Schinas said—€20 million of which is allocated to the Canary Islands. That is before the newly announced €14 million in EU funds. Schinas also announced that Spain may use the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to cover expenses associated with migration.
The ERDF is designed to “strengthen economic, social and territorial cohesion in the European Union” and is supposed to, among other things, focus on making Europe more competitive, greener, and “more social.” The Spanish government must formally request the use of funds from the ERDF.
Hungarian MEP András László commented on the Commission’s blatant hypocrisy on X, saying “So, Spain gets a €14 million support to deal with the migration crisis, while Hungary gets a €200 million fine for dealing with the migration crisis. Got it.”
The EU Commission yesterday announced its intent to deduct a €200 million fine imposed by the European Court of Justice on Hungary from the country’s share of EU funds. While the court fined Hungary for alleged violations of EU law, the country’s conservative government has maintained it is simply controlling its border, which is also the EU’s external border.
