The European Union is set to give Morocco around half a billion euros to help stem the tide of illegal immigration despite claims that the Moroccan government has relaxed surveillance of the Canary Island migrant route.
The European Union and Morocco have cooperated on the subject of illegal immigration for years but a new agreement between the two will see the EU commit up to €500 million (£422 million/$496 million) for ongoing help in stopping illegal immigration.
The half-a-billion euro package is expected to be paid out in the next five years and follows a previous sum of 346 million euros that was paid out between 2014 and 2020, Spanish newspaper El Mundo reports.
In the first half of this year, Moroccan authorities have claimed to have prevented around 26,000 migrants from crossing into Europe illegally and have also stated that Moroccan authorities have dismantled at least 100 people trafficking networks.
The Spanish government, meanwhile, has credited cooperation deals with African countries as helping to reduce the number of illegal immigrants by around 40 per cent.
Some Spanish authorities, however, are more cautious in their praise for Morocco’s ability to stop illegal immigrants, with Spanish border guards stating this month that Morocco “opens or closes the tap depending on its interests.”
The migration route to the Spanish Canary islands, one of the most dangerous of all routes to Spain, has seen hundreds of arrivals this month, with 537 illegals arriving on the islands in a period of just nine days.
A total of 10,347 illegals have arrived in the Spanish Canary Islands so far this year, a figure 26 per cent larger than during the same period last year, as some suggest Morocco has relaxed its surveillance of the route as many boats depart from the country’s western coast.
Spain’s relationship with Morocco has been fraught in recent months due to differences regarding the Western Sahara region that initially saw Spain consider Morocco’s claim to Western Sahara as an occupation.
However, earlier this year, Spain changed its policy and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez agreed that allowing the region to operate autonomously under the rule of Morocco would be “serious, realistic and credible,” mending ties between the two countries.