The investigation conducted by EL PAÍS in collaboration with Lighthouse Reports reveals how Morocco, Mauritania, and Tunisia use European funding to detain and forcibly displace migrants and refugees. This has led Sumar to question its government partner about the EU’s migration policies. The journalistic work exposes how the police and military forces of these countries detain and leave sub-Saharan individuals in deserts to prevent them from reaching Europe, as part of the EU’s migration strategy. It is evident that Brussels has been aware of these operations for years and that they are executed with the financial and material support provided by the EU, in which Spain plays a prominent role.
Spain provides logistical support (police personnel, vehicles, training, and technology) through FIIAPP (International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies) and the Ministry of the Interior to these countries. The questions raised by Sumar inquire about the specific support Spain provides, such as vehicles, supplies, and personnel, as well as the activities to which this logistical support is allocated within the migratory agreements with the EU or Frontex. Spain has been a pioneer in signing agreements to finance origin and transit countries in order to deter migrants from reaching Europe, with agreements dating back to the crisis of 2006 in the Canary Islands. This strategy has been presented in Brussels as a successful recipe against irregular immigration.
These questions also revolve around the actions that the Spanish government intends to take to ensure the cessation of any collaboration with these human rights violations, or to facilitate and ensure safe and respectful migration for individuals passing through the mentioned countries. It is also questioned whether the Spanish government possesses documentation or photographs proving the abandonment of migrants in remote areas by Mauritanian authorities, as revealed in the investigation. Sumar’s candidate for the European elections, Estrella Galán, has stated that they will demand a parliamentary inquiry in the European Parliament to ascertain responsibilities and denounce the misuse of EU funds in funding countries like Morocco, Tunisia, and Mauritania for forcibly detaining migrants.
Galán also mentioned that they will demand surveillance mechanisms to ensure that the EU respects human rights more effectively, given the increasing vulnerability of these rights. Sumar holds the belief that the new European migration policy, which tightens reception requirements for migrants, poses a threat to human rights. They advocate for closing Immigration Detention Centers (CIEs), pursuing illegal deportations, and ending the externalization of borders in their program. With the European elections approaching, migration policy is not the only issue highlighting differences between government partners. A recent failure to pass a law on the abolition of pimping proposed by the PSOE, not supported by Sumar, has led to the withdrawal of a project on land law in Congress. Sumar has also called on the PSOE to recall its ambassador from Israel, following diplomatic responses to Spain’s recognition of the state of Palestine.
