EU set to strike €210-million migration deal with Mauritania after Nigeria scrapped anti-migration law

EU Commission chief has pledged more than €210 million to support Mauritania manage migrant flows and clamp down on human traffickers, which comes amid growing concerns in Brussels that the recent decision by Niger’s junta to repel an anti-migrant law could lead to an increase in migratory flows to Europe.
Speaking during a recent visit to Mauritania’s capital Nouakchott, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she had discussed a “common roadmap” on migration management with the country’s President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, which should be finalized this spring. Brussels will commit “more than €210 million” before the end of the year to help the West African country tackle the root causes of migration, provide humanitarian assistance to refugees and crack down on human traffickers. “Insecurity and lack of economic opportunities in the region push many people to migrate, Von Der Leyen said, adding that “this migration causes many people to fall into the cynical traps of smugglers and puts their lives in danger.”
It comes amid soaring numbers of people transiting through Mauritania to embark on the dangerous journey in small boats from Africa’s west coast to Spain’s Canary Islands. Von der Leyen’s pledge follows a similar deal struck with Tunisia in July 2023, which saw the EU committing €105 million to tackle smuggling, step up border management and speed up the return of asylum seekers whose applications are denied. Eight years earlier, the migration crisis prompted the EU to act as it sought to curb illegal immigration from the African continent. In exchange for financing of up to €1 billion, Niger’s government signed the 2015 law in an attempt to put a stop to the flow of migrants traveling through the West African country without documents. Nigerian military junta’s decision last November to revoke this law was slammed by Brussels, saying that it could lead to an increase in the number of people trying to reach Europe illegally.