EU Migration Aid to Morocco Under Scrutiny as Migrant Flows Surge

Morocco is the second country that receives the most aid from Europe for migration cooperation, i.e. 346 million euros according to May 2021 data from the European Commission, a period that coincides with the invasion of more than 10,000 migrants in Ceuta, causing an unprecedented migration crisis. Despite this, the government of Pedro Sanchez approved last year an aid of 30 million euros to Morocco, which comes in addition to those approved in 2019 and 2020 for the control of migration flows.

Sources from the Spanish Ministry of the Interior, consulted by Europa Press, also specify that, thanks to the European fund managed by the International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies (FIIAPP), Morocco has also received military and technical equipment (all-terrain vehicles, drones, radars, etc.) for border control.

To read: Spain Provides Over €100 Million in Development Aid to Morocco, Boosting Education and Health

These aids aim to "contribute to the financing of the deployment of the Moroccan authorities in their activities to fight against illegal immigration, migrant smuggling and human trafficking," Sanchez had assured in November 2018. But despite these support actions for Morocco, the migration flow has not decreased. On the contrary, it is taking on alarming proportions, going from 76.9% in 2021 to 239.5% in the first three months of 2022, due to the assaults of sub-Saharan migrants on the Melilla fence on March 2 and 3.

From January to December 2021, 41,632 migrants entered Spain irregularly, an increase of 21.9% compared to the 32,513 recorded in 2019, before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, recently praised the "perfect" migration cooperation with Morocco, stressing that the health crisis, which led to the closure of borders, was at the origin of the increase in migration flows.