Next deal

EU: migration pact with Morocco by the end of the year

Time and again, serious injuries and deaths occur when people try to cross the border fence.

(Bild: AP)

The EU also wants to sign a migration pact with Morocco by the end of 2024. This was revealed to Die Krone by high-ranking diplomats from Brussels. But this time it is not necessarily about money. 

Although there has been no official agreement to date, the EU has paid almost one billion euros to Morocco since 2014 and until 2027 as part of cooperation programs so that it can play "gatekeeper" for Europe. Spain alone has transferred 125 million to the Kingdom of Mohammed VI since 2019. Logical, as Morocco is only 20 kilometers away from Spain at its closest point and therefore from the European mainland. Austria's Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer negotiated a repatriation agreement with Morocco last year, which, according to the Ministry of the Interior, "works very well." A bilateral agreement between Austria and Egypt was also the basis for the migration deal signed with the country on the Nile at the weekend.

Federal Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) and the Moroccan head of government Aziz Akhannouch

(Bild: APA/BMI/JÜRGEN MAKOWECZ)

Morocco and the EU have been negotiating for seven years and the deal is due to be signed at the end of the year. Curious: this deal was made necessary by the agreement with Turkey. The Turkish president has collected almost nine billion euros since 2016 to prevent Syrian and Afghan refugees from entering Europe. This shifted the refugee routes westwards. These mainly led from Libya to the Italian coast. A dangerous route. This and the rigorous action against smuggling gangs made the route via Morocco more attractive.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV)

In 2018, migration from Morocco to Spain and Portugal peaked at over 65,000 migrants. This was the first and so far only time that this passage recorded higher numbers than the central or eastern route.

Morocco's King Mohammed VI

(Bild: AFP)

International recognition of Western Sahara
However, cooperation with the kingdom comes at a price. Not financially, but politically. The agreement amounts to the EU supporting Morocco's territorial claim to Western Sahara. In return, Morocco supports the European refugee policy. Under international law, the status of Western Sahara is internationally disputed. Spain has already recognized its former colony as Moroccan territory, while the USA did so in 2020 as part of a political deal: in return, the kingdom normalized its diplomatic relations with Israel.

Migrants climb over the fence that separates the Spanish exclave of Melilla from Morocco.

(Bild: The Associated Press)

However, Morocco wants to be free of dependencies. The kingdom maintains partnerships with China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the USA and the EU. These partners are needed. Major investment projects such as co-hosting the 2030 FIFA World Cup with Portugal, plans for a tunnel between Europe and Africa through the Strait of Gibraltar and the establishment of industry are Morocco's big, ambitious plans.