Spain Urges Frontex to Boost Cooperation With African Countries to Prevent Irregular Immigration

The Spanish government believes that the best way to deal with irregular immigration from African countries is cooperation based on mutual trust and sustained in time with the African partners.

In order to achieve that, the Spanish Minister of the Interior Fernando Grande-Marlaska has asked the new executive director of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex), Hans Leijtens, to work more to boost cooperation with African countries in this regard.

He made such requests during a visit to the Frontex headquarters in Warsaw, Poland, last Friday, March 3, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

“Spain’s experience shows that the best way to deal with this phenomenon is to work with our partners to prevent irregular flows in the countries of origin and transit, based on cooperation based on mutual trust and sustained in time,” the Minister said amongst others throughout the meeting with director Leijtens.

In order to make his point, Grande-Marlaska highlighted the fact that such a strategy has proved to be successful for Spain, after the country marked a notable reduction in the figures for arrivals in Spain this year, by 56.9 per cent, which is quite higher compared to the year 2022.

Whereas in 2022, data by the Spanish Ministry of the Interior has revealed that irregular immigration to Spain decreased by 25.6 per centfrom 41,945 arrivals marked in 2021 to 31,219 in 2022.

The decrease in the number of migrant arrivals was mostly noted at the entrances from the sea, with a general decrease also recorded on the coasts of the peninsula, Ceuta, the Balearic Islands, and the Canary Islands.

Throughout the meeting, the Minister also urged Frontex to play “a more relevant role” in preventing irregular migratory flows in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic.

“External borders are not only national but European, and given the challenges we face, states of first entry must be supported politically and operationally,” he said referring to countries like Spain, Italy, Cyprus, and Greece, that most often are the first points of entry for migrants into the EU.

In 2022, the EU recorded nearly one million asylum applicationswhich is 50 per cent more than in 2021, and the highest ever recorded since 2016. The majority of the asylum applicants are once again from Syria, Afghanistan, and Turkey, though Venezuelans and Colombians also account for a high number of applicants.

The number of unaccompanied minors also increased last year, reaching a total of 43,000, the highest number recorded since 2015.