New Europe
By NEOnline | IR
In a bilateral policy initiative, the Spanish government will add €30 million to the EU’s €140 million in funds dispersed to Morocco to curb irregular migration.
According to figures released by the Spanish Interior Minister, irregular migration from Morocco to Spain fell by 27% in 2018.
The funds will be allocated to Morocco’s border force, while the Spanish government will also procure equipment worth €26 million that will also be donated to its North African neighbour. The equipment will include 750 vehicles, 15 drones, scanners, and radars. That brings Spanish bilateral aid earmarked for Morocco’s border control capacity to €56.
Spain has dispersed similar aid to African states since 2006, when thousands of migrants began landing on the coast of the Canary Islands on makeshift boats departing from Mauritania and Senegal. Bilateral border cooperation proved successful as the flow from both countries has come to a standstill.
