Frontex's role in the Balearic Islands is in turmoil: the Interior Ministry insists it has been operating since February.
The organization denied that the Spanish government had requested help in this regard.
PalmIs Frontex operating in the Balearic Islands, where the wave of migration has surged this year? Just over 24 hours ago, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) denied the government delegation's claims and asserted that it has no agents deployed in the archipelago. It also stated that the Spanish government has not requested assistance in that territory. However, the Ministry of the Interior maintains that in November 2024 it requested air reinforcement for Frontex, specifically on the southern border of the Balearic Islands, to improve the detection of small boats. Furthermore, it insists that this reinforcement became effective especially starting last February. The People's Party (PP) has asked Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska to clarify why there are such discrepancies in the accounts.
The confusion began when the Spanish government's delegate in the Canary Islands, Alfonso Rodríguez, stated last week in an appearance before the Senate that Frontex had already been asked in November 2024 to confirm that the work being done in the western Mediterranean had "an impact." On the contrary, the spokesperson for this organization, Chris Borowsky, denied this on Wednesday to IB3 Radio, when he said that they have not received any formal request from the Spanish government in this regard nor do they have agents deployed in the Canary Islands. Following these statements, the PP and Vox demanded Rodríguez's resignation.
The PP asks Marlaska to appear.
Ministry sources have confirmed to ARA Baleares that they requested this reinforcement of resources in the Islands through the JORA application. They also emphasized that the deployment is part of the operational plan between Spain and the agency signed last January. The PP representative for the Islands in Congress, José Vicente Marí, has announced that his group will request Marlaska appear before the Lower House to explain whether he has held talks with Algeria regarding the arrival of boats to the Islands, and also "the lies about Frontex."
