Illegal immigrants in Ceuta: “It is time for a readmission agreement between Europe and Morocco”

Thousands of African migrants were again stranded in Ceuta on Monday. According to MP Theo Francken and MEP Assita Kanko, the migrants are being abused as a geopolitical blackmail tool. They want Morocco to fully take up its important role in African migration management.

No fewer than 5,000 African migrants arrived illegally on Monday in Ceuta, the Spanish enclave on the African continent. A daily record. They rowed, swam and climbed in their thousands all at the same time. Among them were some 1,500 minors, even including many small children. One person died. The Guardian Civil, not known for its gentle approach, was powerless in the face of this modern assault.

MP Theo Francken points out that this is not the first time we have seen this. “We saw similar images early last year when Erdogan decided to open the EU-Turkey border checkpoint on the Turkish side. He demanded more European money. The coronavirus outbreak suddenly put an end to this cynical blackmail.”

Migrants as a geopolitical blackmail tool

Now it is Morocco that is bothered about the fact that the leader of the freedom fighters for an independent Polisario is currently being treated for the coronavirus in a Spanish hospital. Morocco does not want to see an independent Polisario in Western Sahara. They see it as a rebellious province set up against Rabat by arch-enemy Algeria. And now that they are not getting their way, they are opening the borders to Europe. “Migrants are used as a geopolitical blackmail tool, such as oil or uranium. That is inhumane and unacceptable,” Theo Francken says.

Cynical plaything of political agendas

Spain must return the illegal migrants one by one, MEP Assita Kanko says. “The European Court of Human Rights previously gave its permission for this in the case ‘N.D and N.T. versus Spain’. Spain must guard its border and seal it hermetically against further assaults. Europe must not allow itself to be blackmailed. We must never accept that migrants become the cynical playthings of foreign political agendas.”

Time for clear readmission agreements with Marokko

“Marokko must be put under maximum pressure diplomatically to fully regain its important role in African migration management. After all, they receive many millions of Europe’s euros for it. Charles Michel and/or Ursula Von Der Leyen must travel to Rabat and finally reach clear Moroccan-European readmission agreements. These negotiations on a European readmission agreement have been at a standstill since the beginning of the century,” Theo Francken and Assita Kanko conclude.