Spanish Politicians Call On PM Sanchez To Approach Algeria

Algerian-Spanish relations are still the subject of political debate between the parties in the Iberian Peninsula, where Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is accused of not doing what is necessary with the Algerian authorities to overcome previous differences and limit the flow of illegal immigrants to the Spanish coasts, whose numbers are increasing from year to year, despite the existence of agreements between Madrid and the Alawite regime in Rabat.
In this regard, the local government of the Spanish Balearic Islands, close to the coasts of western Algeria, called on Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to “engage in a diplomatic policy” with Algeria to work on limiting the flow of illegal immigrants from Africa, indicating that without cooperation with Algeria, Madrid will not reach a solution to the problem of illegal immigration.
This call was made by the official spokesman for the local Balearic government, Antoni Costa, in a press conference following the government council meeting, where he doubted that Sanchez “does not seem to have any contact with Algeria.”
Costa also expressed the “concern” of the Balearic executive regarding the existence of a “common migration route” between North Africa and the Balearic Islands, where more migrants have already arrived so far in 2024, with 2,500 illegal migrants, compared to around 2,200 in the same period last year.
According to Europa Press, the Balearic government has blamed the Sánchez government for having “done absolutely nothing to avoid this situation, to prevent the illegal immigration mafia from operating this common route without any barriers”, and accused Pedro Sánchez of making many statements, but without carrying out any actions on the ground.
The issue of illegal immigration is considered the main reason behind the decision of the government of Pedro Sanchez to “kneel” to the Moroccan regime, during the crisis that erupted between them before the spring of 2022. The Alawite regime allowed about ten thousand migrants from sub-Saharan Africa to storm the Spanish enclave in northern Morocco or the city of Ceuta in May 2021.
This number of migrants was enough for Madrid to make harsh concessions to the Moroccan regime in March 2022, which consisted of changing Spain’s historical position on the Sahrawi issue, by supporting the autonomy plan pushed by the Alawite regime. Sanchez and his government were betting, through their rapprochement with the Moroccan regime, on helping the latter stop or at least limit the flow of illegal migrants into Spanish territory.
However, with the passage of more than two years since Madrid’s concession to Rabat, the situation has not changed one iota, as the flow of migrants has continued to increase, not through the occupied enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, but through other routes, including the Balearic Islands in southeastern Spain.