![Spanish Representatives Oppose Morocco’s Joint Bid with Spain and Portugal Spain’ Prime Minister proposed a trio bid with Morocco and Portugal to host the 2030 World Cup; but the idea does not appear to be popular with Spanish politicians. The representatives of two Spanish political parties, the People’s Party and the Citizens-Party, have said they do not want Spain to submit a joint candidacy with Portugal and Morocco for the 2030 World Cup. In a meeting organized by the National Federation of Sports Facilities Entrepreneurs (FNEID) in Madrid, the People’s party representative, Vicente Azpitarte dismissively spoke about Spain joining a trio with Morocco and Portugal to organize the World Cup. Azpitarte specifically wondered whether Spain would get any advantages from teaming up with the two countries, t Spanish news outlet Iusport reported on Wednesday. The Citizens-Party representative, Roberto Nunez, agreed with Azpitarte. “We do not intend to organize a World Cup with other countries. Spain has more than enough capacity [to organize the World Cup], it is a country that has already organized a World Cup, and we do not understand that proposal,” Nunez said. The adviser of United Podemos, Oscar Penas, stated that he does not clearly see why “the priority is to organize a World Cup or an Olympiad at this time.” Morocco and Spain cooperate on a number of issues, ranging from security and migration to trade and education. On November 18, the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, arrived in Morocco for a first visit since his election to premiership. During his visit, Sanchez proposed to both Head of Government Saad Eddine El Othmani and King Mohammed VI a joint bid for the 2030 World Cup. “We are launching a joint message, which is that this will be a bid between two continents. The King of Morocco is receptive and we’re going to work on it with Portugal. We are very excited about it,” Sanchez said.](https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/ABL-Launches-in-Casablanca-Becoming-Africa’s-First-Aircraft-Leaser-180x135.jpeg "ABL Launches in Casablanca, Becoming Africa’s First Aircraft Leaser")
Geneva - UNHCR called upon the EU and Member States to revisit the eligibility criteria by lowering the threshold for relocation candidates to include additional nationalities likely in need of protection.
Geneva – UNHCR called upon the EU and Member States to revisit the eligibility criteria by lowering the threshold for relocation candidates to include additional nationalities likely in need of protection.
In some instances, while States have indicated the places made available, these same places have not been formally pledged to Greece and Italy, the source added in a statement.
This is exacerbating the difficulties for asylum-seekers who can and should benefit from the scheme. Effective relocation is key to increasing solidarity and responsibility sharing in Europe, and ensuring the better management of movements, including helping to address irregular secondary movement and reliance on smuggler networks. This is particularly vital given the humanitarian situation in Greece, and the increasing number of people staying in Italy and applying for asylum. One year ago, the European Union (EU) and Member States agreed on a two-year plan to relocate 160,000 asylum-seekers mainly from Greece and Italy to other European countries, the UN refugee agency recalled.
Yet, the number of pledges continues to be woefully inadequate and implementation unnecessarily slow and challenging, the agency noted.
So far, 4,776 asylum-seekers have been relocated from Greece and Italy, only 3% of the original target. UNHCR is calling on States to increase pledges, including for unaccompanied and separated children, speed up the registration and transfers of candidates, and for more nationalities fleeing war and persecution to have access to the scheme.
From Greece, a total of 3,712 asylum-seekers have departed the country thus far and 7,970 people have been referred for relocation. So far, there are 8,676 pledges available for relocation from 21 EU Member States, as well as Switzerland and Liechtenstein, representing only 13% of the target of 66,400 places. From Italy, 1,064 asylum-seekers have been relocated to 16 countries with 2,809 pledges made available to date. More people are staying in Italy than in previous years, including due to increased border controls in the northern areas.
Participating States also need to accelerate the processing and transfer of relocation candidates. States need to work in partnership with the Greek and Italian authorities and relevant agencies to increase the personnel and infrastructure made available, and to speed up the registration and processing of cases. Currently, only asylum-seekers of nationalities with an average recognition rate of 75% or higher at the EU level are eligible for relocation. Based on the latest available EU data, this threshold excludes, for example, Iraqis, who previously met the threshold, as their average recognition rate has fallen to 73%.
