Experts call on the European Union to consult with Morocco in managing the migration file

The issue of illegal immigration continues to raise concerns in European countries after their coasts began to regularly receive hundreds of thousands of immigrants coming from the African continent and taking the southern Mediterranean countries as starting points with the aim of embracing the “European mainland.”

This week, the European Union adopted new reforms that will form a new “Migration and Asylum Charter.” It took about a decade to prepare these legal texts in light of the varying intentions and interests of countries in this regard, in parallel with the rejection of it by parties affiliated with the “extreme right.”

European officials welcomed this agreement, which they considered “historic and necessary for European security as a whole.” Ylva Johansson, EU Home Affairs Commissioner, emphasized that the new reforms aim to “protect the Union’s external borders, the vulnerable and refugees.”

In light of this European trend towards more stringent policies regarding immigration, Morocco appears among the countries that have partnerships with Brussels in managing the issue of clandestine immigration and reducing the proportion of arrivals to the European mainland, as Rabat is still one of the countries in the region that Europe relies on to help it manage this. File.

Researchers specializing in the issue of migration, who spoke to Hespress, confirmed that “the European Union is required to continuously consult with Morocco regarding the management of this file, as it remains an indispensable strategic partner.” Therefore, any measures that might make it a secondary party or portray it as a gendarme and nothing else remain unacceptable and cannot succeed without Rabat’s involvement in it.”

In this regard, Abdel Fattah Jamour, a researcher specializing in migration and development, said, “The various reforms that the European Union is moving to implement regarding the migration file are important. However, it cannot bear fruit if it does not bring in parties from outside the continent, including Morocco, which is making major efforts to curb clandestine migration heading towards European soil.”

Jamour added, in a statement to Hespress, that “Morocco is the only country in the region that has both the characteristics of departure and arrival, as it has recently turned into a region of settlement for a large group of immigrants, especially from sub-Saharan countries. Therefore, any European measure that concerns the immigration issue must be discussed with Morocco, which spares European soil hundreds of thousands of immigrants annually.

According to the same spokesman, the solution to this complex issue “cannot be achieved only by adopting purely legal measures alone, but rather requires the support of the countries of origin and origin at the development level to overcome the various restrictions that increase the proportion of people coming to ride the waves of the Mediterranean or the Atlantic in a secret way,” considering that “Moroccan policy in this regard has proven and continues to be effective.”

Regarding the nature of the amendments approved by the European Union, the researcher in migration and development stated that “border centers that are expected to be relied upon heavily may know human rights violations and raise questions about the conditions of residence there; While deporting asylum seekers outside European territory leads to their loss of international protection, even though submitting an asylum request is guaranteed internationally and humanitarianly.”

For his part, Al-Kabir Attouf, an academic expert in migration issues, said, “Morocco remains a strategic partner of the European Union in confronting clandestine migration, as it has become an exporter and producer of the migration phenomenon, especially in the recent period after it became a region of stability in addition to being essentially a transit region towards European mainland; Therefore, any future vision of the phenomenon must have a partner in its preparation.”

Attouf pointed out, in a statement to Hespress, that “Morocco has relied, during the recent period, on a very strict strategy regarding curbing the rate of immigration; This is confirmed by the rates of illegal operations that he thwarts, especially in the northern region, while it is noted that the activity has also become present at the level of the Atlantic front off the Canary Islands.”

The university professor at Ibn Zohr University in Agadir confirmed that “the Moroccan refusal to become a European gendarme is consistent and clear; This is what Europe also understands by continuing to support Rabat politically, diplomatically and logistically, given the weight of this file, which raises disagreements among the countries of the Union over the method of managing it. Italy currently has the strongest position as it is most affected by thousands of migrants coming from the coasts of Morocco, Libya and Tunisia as well.”

The same spokesman also stressed “the necessity of European consultation with the Kingdom in any step related to managing the migration process in the region, as it remains an important element in this regard, given the efforts it makes to control illegal human movement,” adding that “Rabat has something to say in this regard.” “It cannot be considered merely a secondary party.”