The President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, stated this morning in the parliamentary control session that the lack of coordination between the State and the Autonomous Communities has been evident in the management of the emergency arising after the irruption of the DANA, in Valencia, "and we have been suffering it for more than a year, given the lack of response to deal with unaccompanied minors arriving to the Islands."
"We do not lose hope," he stressed, and assured that, in migratory matters, "we will continue working to reach an agreement that promotes the reform of the Immigration Law."
According to the President, "currently, there are many events on which we should have a joint position as a country, but the Conference of Presidents has not been convened for two years, and not only to talk about immigration but also about regional financing, demographic challenge, the consequences of the war conflicts in the world, etc."
Clavijo wanted to emphasize that in the Canary Islands we work in a different way, especially in emergencies: "we are united and, deeply regretting what has happened in Valencia and other communities, I have to highlight the excellent work that our civil protection teams are doing, which have carried out, to date, more than 418 actions."
Continuing with the horizon that is glimpsed in migratory matters, and in allusion to VOX, the head of the autonomous executive described it as difficult "to maintain all the possibilities of dialogue open when immigration is used as a weapon and governments are blackmailed if they seek an agreement that, remember, its beneficiaries are boys and girls in a situation of great vulnerability."
On the other hand, he thanked the outstretched hand offered by the spokesperson for the Nueva Canarias-Canarian Bloc group, Luis Campos, to convene the Canarian Migration Pact again, "so that we can defend a common position from the Islands; it is our intention that we can reach the Conference of Presidents with a prior agreement, also, with the state forces."
In this sense, Fernando Clavijo recalled that the State committed to convene it, "and we are still waiting for a date." The President lamented that "it should not be news that the State does not fulfill its obligation, but it is so and it is reflected, in addition, in its inability to approve, for the second consecutive year, the General Budgets."
According to the President, "it is an irresponsibility, because not having a budget is not favorable for the economy, nor for society, nor for economic activity."
This situation, "has directly affected the preparation of the public accounts of the Canary Islands, because although they come to plan the policies of the Government, they have had to be designed within a framework of uncertainty and prudence." Clavijo acknowledged that "no budget gives total answers, but the one for the Canary Islands grows, in 2025, by 3.3% and allows to increase the items of the fundamental areas for the Canarians: Education, Health, Social Services and Housing."
On the possibility that the Cabildos assume the forest cent, included in the Bill, to fight against desertification and forest fires, Clavijo explained that it is a voluntary measure but that, as proposed by Raúl Acosta, from AHI, "we could open the possibility, via amendment, for it to be a modulable measure, to ensure that all island institutions adhere to it, making it clear that professional fuel is exempt."
The President stressed that "it is not only about linking those revenues directly to our mountains, in Fuerteventura they could be used to protect the gavias and in Lanzarote to address the water emergency."