Spain opposes proposal for asylum centres outside EU ahead of summit

Spain's government said on Wednesday that it disagrees with a proposal to create asylum centres in countries outside the European Union, ahead of the summit of EU leaders later this week.

The 27 EU member states are due to meet on Thursday and Friday to discuss, among other topics, a proposal by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that the bloc considers using such centres to combat irregular migration.

Spanish Labour Minister Yolanda Díaz from the leftist party Sumar (Unite), which is part of Spain's governing coalition, said she disagreed with the idea.

Government spokeswoman Pilar Alegría had already flatly rejected such a plan, saying, "The migration policy we are developing is already working."

There is an ongoing debate in Spain over a plan to use a relatively new but almost disused airport in the central region of Castilla-La Mancha as a reception centre for migrants.

Many migrants, including minors, have arrived on the Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago off the coast of north-western Africa, in recent months. The Canary Islands are pushing for a fair distribution of these migrants and support from the central government.

According to the EU border protection agency Frontex, the number of irregular entries to the bloc in the first nine months of the year across the central Mediterranean - from Libya and Tunisia via Sicily and Malta - fell by 64% compared to the same period in the previous year to just over 47,700.

Meanwhile, the number of attempts to enter the EU via the West Africa route across the Atlantic - from North and West Africa to the Canary Islands - doubled year-on-year to around 30,600.