Spain Denies Providing Aid to Morocco for Migration Control

"No subsidy or aid has been granted to any Moroccan entity," the Spanish government said in a written response on December 27 to a question from deputy Pablo Cambronero. The parliamentarian, justifying the migration crisis of last May by a lack of means of the Moroccan police, asked the Executive about the status of "vehicles and other donations made to Morocco by the Interior Ministry", as well as the aid or subsidy granted to the kingdom.

To read: Spain Withholds Details on $30 Million Aid to Morocco for Immigration Control

Recalling that the funds dedicated to international police cooperation are part of the general state budget approved by parliament, Cambronero denounced the attitude of the Interior Ministry which "refuses to publish this data on the Transparency Portal." "These are public subsidies and this practice is totally unjustified," criticized the parliamentarian.

To read: Morocco May Decline Spain’s Earthquake Aid as Deadline Approaches

Thousands of migrants, mostly minors, arrived en masse in Ceuta in May, causing an unprecedented migration crisis. Many have voluntarily returned to Morocco, while about sixty have been repatriated by the government before the Spanish justice suspended the operation deemed "illegal" by several human rights NGOs.