EU pledges support to Morocco’s efforts against illegal migration and human trafficking

The European Union has pledges to support Morocco’s efforts to fight the smuggling of migrants and human trafficking in its action plan unveiled Tuesday in Brussels by EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson.
The action plan will be submitted to the upcoming EU Justice & Home Affairs Council (June 8-9) and the European Council (June 29-30).
Under this plan focusing on countering illegal migration through Western Mediterranean routes, Morocco will benefit from financial assistance, budget support operations and EU-funded capacity building initiatives. The EU will also continue to promote cooperation between Morocco and Europol and awareness campaigns on the risks related to illegal migration.
To prevent irregular migration and save lives along all migratory routes, the EU will strengthen its cooperation with partner countries and international organizations on the basis of the Rabat Process priorities set out by the Euro-African Dialogue on Migration and Development, a regional migration dialogue bringing together national authorities from African and EU Member States around migration and development issues.
Within the framework of its action plan, the EU pledges to cooperate with Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia, strengthening their capacities to develop national and jointly targeted actions to prevent irregular migration, support more effective border and migration management and reinforce search and rescue capacity.
The European bloc will also enhance bilateral cooperation between Frontex and Morocco, Mauritania and Senegal, notably by implementing the Frontex-Morocco 2023 roadmap and pursuing the negotiation of working arrangements, building on and complementing ongoing cooperation between EU member countries and these partners.
In 2018, irregular arrivals to the EU via the Western Mediterranean routes increased significantly. While the number of illegal migrants reaching Europe through the Western Mediterranean route decreased in 2019, the Atlantic route saw an important surge in migratory flows particularly in 2020 and 2021 before dropping in 2022 and in 2023.