Belgium, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) The European Commission renewed its partnership against human trafficking with the Kingdom of Morocco, the body noted in a press release.
Ylva Johansson, European Commissioner for Home Affairs, and Spanish Minister of the Interior Fernando Grande-Marlaska attended a meeting with Moroccan Minister of the Interior Abdelouafi Laftit in Rabat on Friday as part of regular political dialogue between the EU and Morocco.
They stressed the importance of cooperation and pointed out that results thus far have been solid.
The officials noted that the EU and Morocco have shared responsibility in matters of migration and agreed to renew the partnership with the aim of tackling human trafficking.
The EC stressed that criminal networks adopted new and violent methods which increases pressure on authorities to address the issue.
The three officials expressed regret over deaths of people attempting to enter the EU illegally, “including those that occurred during the recent distressing events on 24 June 2022,” as well as injuries of Moroccan and Spanish border officers.
The Commission pointed out that traditional methods of curbing human trafficking are under strain and added that tragic events “showed how very dangerous and violent human smuggling networks were, and the extent to which they were prepared to take any risk.”
Investigations underway
Officials noted that authorities launched investigations into these incidents and welcomed the founding of the Moroccan National Human Rights Council’s fact-finding commission, stressing that the EU and Morocco share views on the importance of protecting fundamental human rights.
The new EU-Morocco partnership will cover enhanced cooperation, joint investigations, support for border control, programs aimed at raising awareness of the dangers of illegal migration and more.
The Commission pointed out that Morocco “is a strategic and committed partner of the EU, with which the EU has been cooperating on migration issues for a number of years.”
“Morocco’s practical efforts have resulted, in the first half of this year, in preventing more than 26,000 irregular departures – one tenth of them saved at sea,” the EC stressed.
The body concluded that it will establish “migration partnerships with the countries of origin, transit and destination, to combat human smuggling networks, but also to address the root causes of migration and improve legal migration routes.”
