Migrants: European Parliament wants to use funding and market access as leverage against Morocco

The text was adopted on Thursday, 17 September, by 339 votes to 225, with 16 abstentions. In it, MEPs condemn the mass irregular crossings that occurred at the end of July and call for a firmer European response.

The provision most directly addressed to Rabat concerns economic relations. Parliament believes that preferential access to the European market and EU funding should depend on neighboring countries’ cooperation in managing borders, combating people smugglers, identifying migrants and readmitting them.

The Moroccan authorities are explicitly called upon to honor their commitments, states the European Parliament. This position comes as Brussels has already released €114.7 million to strengthen Spanish resources in Sebta.

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The resolution suspends neither funding nor any trade advantage granted to Morocco. It sets out Parliament’s political position. Any concrete measure would then have to be proposed by the Commission and approved according to European procedures.

The return of migrants, including minors

MEPs are calling for the “swift and effective return” of all people without the right to stay in the Union. They expressly include unaccompanied minors, in compliance with European and international law.

Spain and Morocco are called upon to strengthen their cooperation in identifying and readmitting migrants who arrived between 29 and 31 July. The issue of minors remains sensitive: Rabat says it wants their return, while Madrid accuses it of failing to respond to several hundred cases.

Parliament is also calling for more resources for Frontex, border infrastructure and mechanisms that can be mobilized in the event of a new crisis. It recalls that protecting the external borders is a responsibility shared by the member states.

The tone is particularly harsh. MEPs denounce the use of irregular immigration as a “hybrid warfare tool against the territorial integrity of a member state.” They also assert that Sebta and Melilla are Spanish and European cities whose sovereignty is “beyond any doubt.”

Any statement calling Spanish sovereignty into question is deemed incompatible with the obligations of a partner country. This wording targets Moroccan claims over Sebta and Melilla, recently reaffirmed by several officials of the kingdom.

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After preparing an exceptional procedure to speed up expulsions during mass arrivals, Parliament is now calling for Morocco’s cooperation to also influence European funding and its preferential access to the Union’s market.