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Rabat – To help combat irregular migration, the EU has promised to strengthen cooperation with Morocco but has made no concrete funding promises.
The European Union must develop cooperation with Morocco to curb migratory flows along the western Mediterranean route, stated Federica Mogherini, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs. She was speaking at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting on Monday in Brussels.
At a press briefing after the meeting, Mogherini asserted: “We have seen a 150% increase in migration flows on the western Mediterranean route this year, and we have decided to strengthen our actions to curb these flows, especially with Morocco.”
In addition to Morocco, the EU is also working with Mauritania, citing a possible increase in funding for the Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF for Africa) intended to allow the nations to better manage migratory flows. Â
The announcement came a month after Khalid Zerouali, Morocco’s director of immigration and border surveillance, gave an interview regarding an increase in irregular immigration attempts. He stated that Morocco has aborted approximately 65,000 attempts annually since 2016.
He explained it was a notable increase from the annual average of 32,000 recorded between 2003 and 2015.
The declaration of further cooperation came after reports surfaced earlier this month that Spain has lobbied the EU on Morocco’s behalf for more resources to deal with irregular immigration.
