The Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, has stated that the number of irregular arrivals to Spain in 2024 would have been higher without the deployments of the National Police and Civil Guard in Africa and “without the determined support and collaboration" of the African partners in the Mediterranean and on the Atlantic facade, in a record year of entries.
He said this on Monday before the 130 ambassadors of Spain gathered in Madrid at the annual Conference organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, in an intervention in which he advocated for continuing to promote the “preventive strategy” in migration matters.
“Collaboration with countries of origin and transit has demonstrated its effectiveness in the past and today continues to prevent many deaths at sea,” Marlaska said in a statement.
The minister also highlighted the importance of international police cooperation, “a crucial issue” for the external dimension of security and “an essential element” for the prevention and fight against all forms of transnational organized crime and terrorism.
In addition, Marlaska has warned about the “increasing number” of European States that have reintroduced controls on their internal borders, “normalizing what should be an extraordinary and temporary measure.”
“Spain continues to advocate for recovering a Schengen Area in which the reintroduction of controls on internal borders is truly exceptional,” he said.
He also dedicated an express mention to the ministry's commitment to peacekeeping operations abroad, in which the Security Forces have participated since 1991 with the intervention of more than 6,400 agents in more than 110 missions.
Robles appeals to multilateralism and unity for peace
For her part, and also in a statement, the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, has reviewed the NATO and European Union missions in which Spain participates, and has assured that, although the priority for the allies is Ukraine, we must not forget "other areas of the planet where there is a very complicated situation”.
In that sense, she has referred to the situation in the Sahel, after the completion of the EU mission in Mali, “where Spain is a benchmark, as it is for many other African countries,” she said.
“Only through multilateralism and unity can we work for peace”, Robles said before the ambassadors, to whom she reiterated Spain's commitment to NATO security policies.
The minister stressed that “the true strength is unity”, in reference to the war in Ukraine and also to Lebanon, “where the current ceasefire is the result of the responsible attitude" of the UN peace mission, in which Spain is a guarantee”.