EU Commission signs partnership with Mauritania on migration Russia now visits those who paid their last respects to Navalny

The European Commission has signed a migration partnership with Mauritania in North Africa. This is intended to promote legal migration and combat smuggling and human trafficking, the Brussels authority announced on Thursday. The country should also be supported in taking in refugees.

Mauritania is a desert state in northwestern Africa. The number of migrants leaving from there to the Canary Islands, which belong to Spain, for example, has risen sharply. According to official Spanish figures, more than 7,000 people have been counted since the beginning of the year. Most arrived in small, barely seaworthy boats from Africa across the open Atlantic Ocean to the islands. That was more than in the entire first half of 2023, when a strong increase in the number of arrivals was also registered.

In February, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had already promised the country financial aid worth 210 million euros. The money should be used, among other things, in the field of migration and as humanitarian aid to migrants, she said during a visit to the capital Nouakchott.

According to the European Commission, the newly concluded migration treaty is also intended to create new employment in the country. It should become easier for companies to raise capital. In addition, the qualifications of young people need to be improved. Women in particular should benefit from this.

The European Commission now wants to work with Mauritanian partners to implement the joint declaration. (sda/dpa/lyn)