AFPV.lnr Von der Leyen, Ghazouani and Sánchez during the visit to Mauritania
NOS Nieuws•gisteren, 22:06
The European Union has signed a deal with Mauritania to combat illegal migration. The West African country has been promised a support package of 210 million euros to better combat human smugglers and migrant boats trying to reach the Canary Islands. More and more migrants are trying to make that dangerous crossing to the Spanish archipelago.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen today visited the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott together with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. There they discussed, among other things, border control and economic development with President Ould Ghazouani of Mauritania.
“To help Mauritania deal with the challenges of migration management, displacement and security and development, the EU is increasing financial support,” European leaders wrote in a statement after the meeting. They also see a role for the European border control agency Frontex in border control, although they did not provide any explanation about this.
110 migrant boats in January
Now that the Sahel is becoming increasingly unstable, partly as a result of coups in Mali and Niger, for example, the number of migrants from that region is growing. The Spanish Ministry of the Interior estimates that around 110 boats carrying a total of 7,270 migrants reached the Canary Islands last month. More than 80 percent of them are said to have left Mauritania on the dangerous journey, which is estimated to have killed around 6,000 people last year.
Von der Leyen explained that she sees economic insecurity and the lack of opportunities for development as important causes of migration to the Spanish islands. “This type of migration leads many people to fall into the cynical trap of smugglers, putting themselves at risk.” According to Von der Leyen, the money, which has been promised for this year, should also be used to create opportunities for young people.
High price
President Ghazouani explained that the consequences of the refugees in his country are great: “Mauritania is paying a high price for this flow of migration.” He pointed out that his country already hosts around 150,000 refugees from neighboring Mali and is increasingly not a stopover, but a final stop for migrants.
Spanish Prime Minister Sánchez said he appreciated that. “We are seeing democratic governments fall, we are seeing an increase in terrorist attacks, a spike in the number of refugees and internally displaced persons, and a worsening of an already acute nutritional crisis,” the Spaniard said. “I am convinced that Mauritania is on the front line.”
The deal with Mauritania is similar to the Tunisia deal that Von der Leyen, together with Prime Minister Rutte and Italian Prime Minister Meloni, concluded with Tunisian President Saied last year. Financial support was also promised to curb migration. There has been a lot of criticism of the Tunisia deal, partly because Tunisia has been guilty of gross human rights violations since the agreement was signed.
2024-02-08 21:06:28
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