Morocco and Turkey have the European Union by the short hairs. “Do as we say, or we’ll send you more migrants” has become a major element of their foreign policy.
Gary Fouse, who translated the following article, includes this introductory note:
The writer of this piece is only 19 years old. His article is part of a series of articles in this Dutch paper Elsevier Podium by young writers. Given the Moroccan situation in the Netherlands, it is quite timely.
The translated article:
Morocco uses migration as a weapon against the weak EU
While Greece and Italy are always struggling with the inflow of illegal immigration, the European border in Spain is also certainly not watertight. There the Moroccan government uses migration as a weapon to blackmail the EU, writes Leon Baten in an article for EW Podium.
Monday, 17 May 2021. An exceptionable day in the Spanish port city of Ceuta. There is panic; the air raid siren sounds. Where the Spanish coast is known for its nightlife, tapas, and the sun, in Ceuta it is a different story. This Spanish enclave on the North African continent, situated on the Strait of Gibraltar, has fallen prey to an unprecedented invasion. At the break of dawn, 8,000 asylum seekers begin their storming of Europe at the Spanish city of 84,000 residents. Thousands of men climb over the fences, sail boats onto the beaches, and run into the city. They found a weak spot in the European border: The Moroccan-Spanish border at Ceuta.
Schengen in Africa
In recent years, Spanish Ceuta, bordering Morocco, has become part of the new western asylum route. A couple of hundred kilometers further east lies Melilla, the other Spanish enclave in Africa bordering on Morocco.
As autonomous cities, they are part of the EU, albeit with a number of important exceptions. EU regulations pertaining to customs policy and the common commercial policies do not apply to Ceuta and Melilla; the same with the free traffic of goods and the European fishing and agricultural policies. On the other hand, there are no exemptions, deviations, or exceptions regarding immigration under EU law, so that in Ceuta and Melilla the same EU legal framework applies as in the rest of Spain.
Whenever an asylum seeker sets foot in Ceuta or Melilla, that is automatically on European territory. And one foot on European territory means the right to an asylum procedure. Asylum procedures that sometimes last years, and with which the Spanish government has its hands full. Many asylum seekers are sent back, but with certain groups, including minors, in practice that is much harder.
The situation is precarious. When the two mini-enclaves are overrun by refugees, Europe is effectively overrun. But Spain logically doesn’t worry about giving up Ceuta and Melilla, which from an EU point of view, would be very appealing. Ceuta and Melilla are free ports and thus, an important factor in Spanish commerce.
Moroccan blackmail
Back to May 17 of this year. Under the rising sun, it seems like a peaceful morning in Ceuta. But Spain and Morocco are on a collision course with each other after the Spanish government offered humanitarian help to the escaped leader of Polisario — an independence movement that is in fierce resistance to the regime of Mohammed VI and fights for an independent Western Sahara.
That conflict brutally disturbs the morning calm: By the border crossings on the coast, dozens of North African migrants literally swim to Europe through the water. The Moroccan Coast Guard stands there and looks on. “Everywhere Moroccans and migrants from other parts of Africa walk around helplessly while tanks drive through the streets. I’ve never seen anything like this before. Here in Ceuta, we are paying the price for an international conflict between Morocco and Spain,” one resident tells a Spanish journalist.
Since the peak in May, things have only gotten worse in the Spanish enclaves. Two weeks ago it happened again, this time in Melilla. An estimated 300 North African migrants stormed the border fences, and a majority reached Europe.
There are countless examples of incidents that are traced back to deliberate blackmail by a furious Morocco, which decided to open the gates to Europe, with all the results that ensue. Moroccan border guards show the migrants the way. And they come. Thousands at a time.