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After the Spanish Interior Minister visited Morocco earlier in November, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson is expected to fly to Rabat in December for a work trip. Johansson will be meeting Moroccan officials to authorize the repatriation of migrants that have recently arrived to the Canary Islands.
«The fight against human traffickers is a priority (…) but we must also repatriate those who are not entitled to international protection. It is for this reason that I will be going to Morocco next week to also discuss this point with the Moroccan government», she said in a press release.
Once in Rabat, Johansson will meet Interior Minister, Abdelouafi Laftit, and foreign affairs Minister Nasser Bourita. She will be accompanied by the European Neighborhood Commissioner, Oliver Varhelyi, El Espanol reports.
However, the obstacle, notes the same source, which stands before the mission of the European official in Morocco is the suspension for two decades of the dialogue on the repatriation of migrants between Rabat and Brussels.
In 2000, EU countries mandated the European Commission to negotiate with the kingdom the conclusion of an agreement on this subject in exchange for some facilities, in particular the granting of visas to Moroccans wishing to travel to Europe.
Between 2003 and 2010, there were 15 rounds of negotiations but without making any progress. In 2015, the two parties resumed dialogue, for a short time. In reaction to the December 2015 judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) excluding the Sahara from any trade agreement with Morocco, the Benkirane government decided to suspend its cooperation with the EU.
To cope with the massive influx of migrants to the Canary Islands, Spain has asked Brussels for 55 million euros just to set up tents to accommodate 7,000 migrants.
