There were less than 3,000 people who landed in the Canary Islands in 2019. atlantic crossing road the number increased 800% when it reached 24,000 arrivals a year later. The situation today has “calmed down” and “under control”, as assessed by the Home Affairs Commissioner this Tuesday. Ylva Johannsonsomething he attributes to his “hard efforts” The European Commission is a “key partner” with a “constructive commitment” as it considers Spain and, in particular, Morocco. “Managing migration together is a very important partner,” he said during the presentation. action plan For western Mediterranean and Atlantic routes, Committed to strengthening cooperation with Rabat and other countries Sub-Saharan Africa.
“Migration flows are sustained, requiring continued vigilance and concrete operational responses. Despite stability, we need to do more. This plan aims to make good progress. It shows that working more closely with our partners abroad is key to success. Migration management inland (…) Especially on the Atlantic route, It is clear that we need to work together with other countries. Senegal, Mauritania and others”, Johannson disclosed a plan that asked Twenty-Seven. “cooperation and solidarity” to prevent deaths at sea and adds to what is already offered for the Central Mediterranean and Western Balkans.
Eighteen operational measures
The plan includes 18 special operational measures, divided into two pillars to double the fight. smuggler mafiasstrengthen border managementHE come back And readmission encouragement of immigrants and legal ways of entry. Brussels in terms of preventing and combating mafia, Operational cooperation with Morocco against migrant smugglingIt is funded through the Global Europe programme, the EU’s main instrument for contributing to sustainable development and stability in the world.
At the same time, Brussels will use this helpline to launch a regional program with North Africa and help eliminate trafficking networks. Tunisia And Sweetcorn The commissioner thanked Mauritania, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Gambia, Mali, Guinea and Niger as a starting point and cooperation and awareness projects to “combat human trafficking and smuggling” on the dangers of this migration route. cooperation with Rabat and Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska several times.
The action plan also finances the capacities of Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia so that cooperation becomes “more systematic” and doubles the bilateral cooperation between the agency. Frontex, Morocco, Mauritania and Senegal. For example, it advocates assessing potential management “bottlenecks” through a Frontex assessment of the situation in the Atlantic and western Mediterranean.
Another pillar of the plan focuses on increasing repatriation of migrants who do not have the right to stay on European soil. “The goal is more voluntary repatriation, better readmission rates by countries of origin, and reintegration of people into their home countries,” Johansson said. . To do this, they propose to increase “financial support to key partner countries” to encourage voluntary returns.
legal immigration routes
The final main focus of the plan, promoting legal pathways to the EU through resettlement. In this area, Brussels points to the implementation of a cooperation agreement to attract talent from Morocco, the possibility of examining the same line of action as Nigeria and Senegal, as well as encouraging the diaspora to contribute to the development of their countries of origin.
The presentation was made two days after a meeting of interior ministers in Luxembourg. will seek to reach a political agreement on reform of the asylum and immigration pact. The Commissioner is confident that Twenty-Seven can secure the necessary qualified majority. If there is a desire, an agreement will be reached on Thursday,” he said. Johannson believes governments have learned lessons from recent years and warns that “we will all be losers” without a deal. Different diplomatic sources agree that there is an opportunity to reach an agreement this week on two key adjustments to the asylum reform, although there are still differences of opinion.