In a question to the European Commission, MEP Jean-Paul Garraud said that the number of arrivals to the Canary Islands has increased tenfold between 2019 and 2020.

"21,328 migrants arrived between October and December 2020. Three times more migrants arrived in January 2021 compared to the same month last year," he highlighted.

"The Balearic Islands and the Iberian Peninsula were not spared, 11,200 Algerians arrived in 2020, beating the record number of arrivals as Frontex compiled statistics," Garraud noted.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, "Spain has once again become the main gateway to the EU for illegal migration, ahead of Italy and Greece," he recalled.

Spain, which is increasingly concerned about the alarming rise in the number of Algerian illegal immigrants arriving on its coasts, has announced in recent weeks the dismantling of several networks of smugglers specializing in transporting their fellow citizens aboard inflatable boats or fishing boats.

The Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, Arancha Gonzalez Laya, had recently expressed concerns about the increasing number of Algerian illegal immigrants arriving on the Spanish coast.

"The number of illegal immigrants arriving in Spain from Algeria has increased five fold since the beginning of the year," Laya said.