Morocco has benefited from new aid from Spain to strengthen its fight against illegal immigration. It is a large sum of money that the Council of Ministers allocated yesterday Tuesday, amounting to 30 million euros for the benefit of Morocco.
The granting of this “additional” support comes against a backdrop of repeated attempts at massive influxes of migrants into Spain via Melilla, Sebta and the Canary Islands. This aid is the fourth granted to Morocco since the arrival of Pedro Sanchez at Moncloa in 2018. The first, in the amount of 32 million euros, dates back to the summer of 2019. The second, of 31 million, was was granted in May 2020, in the midst of a health crisis. As for the third, worth 30 million, it was granted in May 2021, a few days after the onset of the Sebta migration crisis.
This support for the fight against immigration is also part of comprehensive social and economic development plans for the cities of Sebta and Melilla and the Canary Islands with an overall combined investment amount of more than 711 million euros. euros between 2023 and 2026. “Sebta and Melilla are two regions with unique characteristics that require differentiated attention due to the set of difficulties associated with economic, social and demographic factors”the council said, explaining that more than 75% of the funding for the two cities’ plans comes from general sources, state budgets and EU structural funds, and the rest is part of the recovery and recovery program funds. transformation and resilience.
Also, in this context, the Spanish Council of Ministers approved the granting to the Kingdom of Morocco of Moroccan assistance in the field of international police cooperation in the amount of 30 million euros, intended mainly to finance the fight against trafficking in human beings and the management of migratory flows. ” This financial assistance responds to the need to support Morocco’s efforts to deal with migratory pressures on the Western Mediterranean route “, we said at the end of the Council of Ministers. The latter made a point of stipulating that “the purpose of the grant is to contribute to the costs of operational deployments, as well as to the maintenance of the equipment used and the Moroccan police services in the development of cooperation measures with Spain in the fight against illegal human trafficking.
The two countries have indeed agreed to strengthen their migratory cooperation and to fight against illegal immigration in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. Since then, migratory flows to Spain have dropped significantly. As of October 15, 25,169 migrants entered Spain by sea and land, 21.5% less than in the same period of 2021, according to the latest report published Monday by the Ministry of the Interior. Indeed, the data recorded throughout 2022 confirms the effectiveness of international police cooperation measures to deal with irregular arrivals and this migratory flow having decreased by around 20%.
However, the control and justification of this support are submitted to the Ministry of the Interior at the Embassy of Spain in Morocco, which is the body responsible for verifying the correct destination of the financial resources and their adaptation to the aims and objectives. specific, the degree of effectiveness and Effectiveness. More than 70 measures – investments and reforms – have been identified for each city, with the aim of ensuring opportunities for economic growth and social cohesion in these areas.
In addition, the European Union (EU) has promised Morocco aid of 500 million euros for the period 2021-2027. This support aims to cover the costs of operational deployments such as patrols and maritime border surveillance. It will also be used to cover the maintenance costs of the equipment used by the Royal Gendarmerie, and the allowances of Moroccan police officers who take part in operations to combat human trafficking in collaboration with their Spanish counterparts.