‘Spain Is Not Alone,’ Says EU Migration Head
Euronews, August 3, 2018
Spain is not alone — that was the message the EU Commissioner for Migration took to Madrid on Friday.
Dimitri Avramopoulos also promised more funding to help the country cope with a new wave of migrants reaching its shores.
According to UN figures, more than 23,000 migrants have entered Spain by sea since January — already exceeding the total number for last year.
“Spain has full support of the European Commission in dealing with the increased arrivals along the western Mediteranean Sea route,” Avramopoulos said on Friday. “I informed the Spanish government of the additional €3 million in emergency funding the Commission awarded Spain to cover the cost of the extra staff deployed in the south of Spain.”
In a joint statement, Spanish and EU authorities announced that Spain will strengthen cooperation and dialogue with Morocco. They also called for €55 million for border management programs in Morocco and Tunisia – countries they said are fundamental to the management of migration flows into Europe.
