The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, have flown to Mauritania to sign a series of deals on migration and energy, as data reveals there has been a surge in people-smuggling operations to the Canary Islands.
Figures soon to be published by Frontex, the EU’s border agency, are expected to show that the number of people risking their lives by making the perilous journey from west African shores to the Spanish islands has risen dramatically in the past year.
The EU leaders will meet Mauritania’s president, Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, on Thursday to “discuss security, migration and stability in the Sahel region”, a statement said.
The west African country, along with its southern neighbour, Senegal, is a significant embarkation point for thousands of people seeking to reach the Canaries. Sources say the route is now the “most active” for people-smugglers luring travellers into high-risk journeys to the EU.
Data shows 7,270 people were smuggled across the 900-mile stretch of water in January, up from 566 in the same month in 2023, the Spanish interior ministry said last week.
Last year, Frontex recorded 380,000 irregular border crossings, the highest number since 2016.
With elections to the European parliament looming in June and anti-migration rhetoric hardening in many member states, the EU has sought to strengthen ties with Tunisia, Egypt and now Mauritania as part of a policy to create strategic alliances.
As well as looking at ways of stemming migration numbers, it is also mindful of the need to create legal routes for migrants, who are needed to fill jobs in countries with ageing populations and to help harness natural resources in the clean energy industry.
On Wednesday, the recently appointed head of Frontex, Hans Leijtens, told Reuters that managing migration was the key to the future of the 27-member bloc.
“Migration is a global phenomenon. We need to manage migration because we can’t cope with unmanaged migration to Europe,” he said. “But a full stop – for me that seems very difficult, not to say impossible.”
Mr Leijtens said increasing the number of effective returns of people refused asylum in the EU was key to rebuilding Europeans’ trust.
“A credible return operation is very important to show both to the inhabitants of Europe, but also to the migrants. If you don’t need our protection … you will be returned,” he said.
Under Mr Leijtens’s predecessor, who eventually resigned amid criticism, Frontex faced multiple accusations of involvement in human rights violations. After nearly a year on the job, Mr Leijtens said he wanted Frontex to have human rights as “part of our DNA”.
“If there are violations, there will be consequences,” he said.
The European Commission said the Mauritania trip would also involve several signing ceremonies around finance and development, with a roundtable discussion on the theme of hydrogen energy with delegates from Mauritania, Spain, the EU and the European Investment Bank (EIB), the EU’s lending arm.
Investing in African infrastructure has long been seen as a route to influence by China and Russia, but the EU is also interested in strengthening security in west Africa, where France’s influence in countries such as Mali and Burkina Faso is seen to have waned significantly.
The path for a partnership with Mauritania was cleared last October, when the EU and Mr Ghazouani made plans for foreign inward investment to help the country decarbonise and develop new energy supplies, including hydrogen, sun and wind alternatives. It is being backed by the European Commission, France, Germany, Spain and the EIB. - Guardian