The Diplomat in Spain

European Commission’s President, Jean-Claude Juncker.

The Diplomat. 02/08/2018

European Commission’s President, Jean-Claude Juncker, assured yesterday to the Spanish Government President, Pedro Sanchez, in a telephone conversation, that Brussels maintains all its commitments to support Spain and Morocco in the management of the immigration, according to Moncloa’s sources.

In a previous letter to Sanchez, Juncker refers to the unblocking of a 55 million-dollar program aimed at increasing border control in Morocco and Tunisia. Regarding Sánchez’s request for «emergency assistance» for the Civil Guard under the Asylum Fund, Juncker states in his letter that «it is being evaluated as a matter of priority». This was confirmed yesterday by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, who asked not to downplay the Brussels effort, although he added that «it is true that it is recognized that they may not be enough».

[hr style=»single»]

The European Commissioner of Migration will travel to Spain in the coming days

[hr style=»single»]

In his letter, Juncker reminds Sanchez of the last community agreement, reached on July 6, and details that «approximately half» of the allocation of 55 million «will finance the materials indicated in his letter», referring to the document that the Spanish president sent him, in which he described a list of equipment Morocco had requested from the Executive of Spain to reinforce its border control work, at a time when the migrant community in Morocco claimed that the Alawite authorities were «letting go» and launching into the Strait towards the Andalusian coast.

«The Commission is doing everything in its power to accelerate the implementation of this program,» says the President of the European Council, who, in addition, through a spokesperson has announced that the Immigration Commissioner, Dimitris Avramopoulos, will travel to Spain in the next few days to address the migration issue after the government’s request for help in the face of increased arrivals of migrants.