The European Union (EU) congratulated Morocco on Tuesday for having decided to definitively settle the issue of Moroccan unaccompanied minors in an irregular situation in certain European countries.
The issue of unaccompanied Moroccan minors abroad is a concern for King Mohammed VI who has renewed his instructions to the various ministers in charge of the file so that a definitive solution is found.
Morocco has arrested a dozen young people who tried to cross the border into Ceuta. Since the mass entry on May 17 and 18 of thousands of Moroccan migrants into the Spanish enclave, the Moroccan security forces have been on maximum alert.
Nasser Bourita , Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Residing Abroad, reacted to the statement by Pedro Sanchez, President of the Spanish Government, on the diplomatic crisis between the two countries. He reiterated that ’the bilateral crisis is not related to the migration issue.’
More than a thousand unaccompanied Moroccan minors arrived in Ceuta between May 17 and 18, triggering an unprecedented migration crisis. Despite the care of 1,125 of them by the local administration, many are still wandering the streets of the Spanish enclave. Their families prefer them to stay in Spain rather than return to Morocco.
Among the thousands of Moroccan migrants who arrived en masse in Ceuta at the beginning of last week, the national police counted 920 minors who were distributed in three centers in the autonomous city.
In reaction to Morocco’s attitude of allowing thousands of migrants to arrive in Ceuta, causing an unprecedented migration crisis, the far-right party Vox has called on the Spanish government to suspend subsidies to Morocco and cancel Operation Marhaba 2021 as well as the granting of entry visas to Europe for all Moroccan citizens.
The massive arrival of migrants in Ceuta against the backdrop of a diplomatic crisis between Morocco and Spain continues to provoke reactions. Michael Roth, German Minister of State for Europe, has just attacked the Moroccan authorities.
Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles considers Morocco’s attitude "unacceptable" for allowing thousands of minors to illegally cross the Spanish borders.
Faced with the migrant "invasion" of Ceuta, the president of the Spanish far-right party Vox, Santiago Abascal, calls on the European Union to take responsibility for protecting and defending its border with Morocco.
Dozens of unaccompanied Moroccan minor migrants are wandering the streets of the city of Ceuta, waiting to cross the strait to reach Spain. Already 6,500 minors out of the more than 8,000 who arrived by swimming in Ceuta at the beginning of last week have been repatriated to Morocco.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez categorically rejected on Monday, at the European Council, the proposal to suspend the allocation of European funds to Morocco, pending the kingdom’s further strengthening of its border control after the massive arrival of migrants in Ceuta at the beginning of last week.