The Partido Popular has called for the Secretary of State for Security, Aina Calvo, to appear before the Joint Commission on Insularity to explain the government's response to irregular maritime migration in the Balearic Islands.

The request was presented in Formentera on Friday, September 25, by Balearic senator Miquel Jerez, PP spokesperson in Congress José Vicente Marí Bosó and Formentera PP president Hugo Martínez.

The politicians held the press conference at the former boat storage area in Es Cap, where they highlighted the number of irregular maritime arrivals recorded on the island.

PP puts 2026 Formentera arrivals at 2,700

Jerez said Formentera had received around 2,700 people arriving by boat so far in 2026.

The PP compared that figure with an island population of approximately 12,000 people, describing the cumulative number of arrivals as equivalent to almost 23% of the resident population.

That comparison refers to the cumulative number of people arriving by boat during the year. It should not be interpreted as meaning that 23% of Formentera's current population consists of those arrivals.

The latest official figure previously published by the Balearic Government, covering January 1 to July 24, recorded 1,857 people arriving in Formentera in 118 boats. The Government said this represented almost half of all people arriving by boat in the Balearic Islands during that period.

Since then, several further waves of arrivals have been recorded. Between Tuesday, September 22 and early Friday, September 25 alone, Formentera recorded 338 people in multiple rescue and interception operations, according to figures from the Government Delegation in the Balearic Islands.

Request for Aina Calvo to appear

The PP wants Aina Calvo, Secretary of State for Security, to appear before the Joint Commission on Insularity.

The party says she should explain what measures are being taken to combat the organisations facilitating irregular migration and what resources are available to the Police and Guardia Civil on the Balearic Islands.

Marí said the party considers there to be insufficient police personnel and resources to deal with the current level of arrivals. Those statements represent the PP's assessment of the situation.

PP says arrivals have increased sharply

Marí also compared the number of arrivals in 2018 with figures he attributed to 2025 and 2026.

He said the number had risen from around 250 people in 2018 to 8,000 across 2025 and 2026.

The 8,000 figure is a figure cited by the PP and should be treated as a party claim rather than an independently verified official statistic. Previous reporting has also identified it as a figure supplied by the party without independent verification.

Official data does confirm a substantial increase in irregular maritime arrivals in the Balearic Islands in recent years. The Balearic Government reported 3,734 people arriving in 205 boats across the islands between January 1 and July 24, 2026, compared with 11,055 people in 606 boats over the longer period from January 1, 2025 to July 24, 2026.

Formentera has seen another intense wave in September

The latest September arrivals have added significantly to the island's 2026 total.

Formentera recorded 96 people in seven boats between September 22 and the early hours of September 23.

By the end of Wednesday, the island had recorded 182 arrivals since Tuesday morning. A further 117 people arrived or were rescued in six operations on Thursday, followed by another 39 in the early hours of Friday, bringing the three-day total to 338.

These figures include people intercepted on land as well as people rescued or intercepted at sea, so they should not automatically be described as all having physically landed on Formentera.

Concerns over police and Guardia Civil resources

Marí said the PP was concerned about the availability of Police and Guardia Civil personnel and equipment on the islands.

He argued that officers should not be expected to handle an increasing number of operations with fewer resources.

The party is therefore asking the central government to provide information about staffing, equipment and the measures being used to address irregular maritime migration.

Wider pressure on the islands

The Balearic Government has also highlighted the increase in irregular maritime arrivals and their impact on the islands.

In July, the Govern said Formentera had recorded 1,857 arrivals in 118 boats during the first part of 2026 and described the island as a particularly significant point on the route from Algeria towards the Balearics.

The Govern has also reported pressure on the islands' services for unaccompanied migrant minors. In its July assessment, it said the island councils were collectively responsible for 880 unaccompanied migrant minors across the Balearics.

The latest PP intervention adds a further political demand for the central government to explain its policing and border-management response.

The figures continue to change

The number of people arriving in Formentera has continued to rise since the last comprehensive official island-by-island figures published in July.

The PP's current estimate of around 2,700 arrivals is therefore higher than the last official figure of 1,857, but the two figures cover different dates.

For that reason, the 2,700 figure is attributed to the PP in this report rather than presented as a newly published official cumulative total.