Rabat – Morocco has renewed its call for a more balanced approach to migration cooperation with the European Union, arguing that managing irregular migration cannot rely solely on border protection.
“The Ministry of Interior reiterates that managing the phenomenon of migration can only be achieved within a comprehensive approach based on shared responsibility, actual solidarity, and burden-sharing,” said Rachid El Khalfi, the official spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior.
The message, included in the Ministry’s statement following the recent mass attempts to reach the occupied cities of Ceuta and Melilla, places the latest crossings within a broader diplomatic framework that has shaped Morocco-EU migration policy for more than a decade.
While much of the statement details the security response to the crossings, its concluding remarks shift attention to the partnership itself.
The ministry said Morocco would continue to cooperate in combating irregular migration and human trafficking, but stressed that migration management can only succeed through a comprehensive approach in which responsibilities are genuinely shared among partners.
This call for shared responsibility extends heavily to financial and operational costs. While the EU has provided significant funding—including over €234 million (MAD 2.51 billion) between 2015 and 2021 and a €150 million (MAD 1.61 billion) package in 2022—Rabat maintains that this aid covers only a fraction of the true expenses. Maintaining continuous border surveillance and mobilizing security forces require sustained resources that far exceed European financial contributions.
Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita firmly expressed this sentiment following the 2021 mass crossings into Ceuta. In an interview with LCI, he stressed that Morocco is not acting out of financial obligation, stating that the country is neither “Europe’s policeman nor its janitor.” Bourita emphasized that Morocco manages migration as part of a mutual, two-way partnership, fulfilling its obligations as a partner rather than in exchange for financial compensation.
Read also: Morocco Releases Official Ceuta Crossing Figures, Reiterates Commitment to Migration Cooperation
The wording echoes language that has long appeared in official EU-Morocco agreements. The 2013 EU-Morocco Mobility Partnership described migration as a matter of “joint and responsible management,” establishing cooperation on legal migration, asylum, border management, combating migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings, and support for Morocco’s asylum and international protection system.
The agreement also framed migration as a shared interest of “the Union, its partners and migrants themselves,” rather than the responsibility of a single country.
That approach was reaffirmed in 2019, when the EU and Morocco adopted a joint declaration describing mobility and migration as one of the pillars of their strategic partnership. The declaration states that managing migration requires “joint and sustained efforts” by Morocco, the EU and its member states through “a comprehensive, humane and respectful of human rights” approach.
It also links migration cooperation to tackling the root causes of irregular migration while expanding legal mobility, strengthening border management, combating trafficking networks, improving returns and reintegration, and implementing Morocco’s National Strategy on Migration and Asylum.
The same language continues in the EU’s Pact for the Mediterranean, adopted in 2025, which identifies migration management as one of its core pillars. The pact calls for cooperation on border security, legal pathways, returns, migrant integration, and combating irregular migration, presenting these objectives as shared regional responsibilities rather than obligations falling on transit countries alone.
Security response follows surge in crossings
The ministry said the recent attempts to reach Ceuta and Melilla were driven by several factors, including misleading information circulated online, human trafficking networks, and misinterpretations of recent Spanish court decisions concerning the immediate return of some migrants intercepted at sea.
According to the ministry, those interpretations led some people to believe that swimming to Ceuta increased their chances of avoiding immediate return.
Authorities said they responded by reinforcing land and maritime surveillance, raising security readiness, and deploying additional resources to protect lives and maintain public order.
Official figures put the number of people heading toward Ceuta at around 40,000 and toward Melilla at approximately 1,135, with all those who reached Melilla returned immediately.
The ministry also reported one accidental death near Ceuta and 10 deaths by drowning, while confirming that Moroccan and Spanish authorities continue verifying reports of additional fatalities.
