Morocco's Call for a New Migration Partnership
In his speech on October 9, 2026, during the opening session of the first legislative year of the twelfth legislative term, King Mohammed VI emphasized the urgent need to move beyond the current model of cooperation on migration. This statement was not merely a reaction to temporary difficulties in relations with European partners; rather, it reflects a strategic shift towards rethinking the philosophy and foundations of this partnership. The focus is no longer solely on improving border management mechanisms and curbing irregular migration. Instead, it aims to establish a new framework for cooperation that ensures a greater balance between the responsibilities and interests of all parties involved, transforming migration into a subject of partnership and joint development rather than merely a security issue that disproportionately burdens southern countries.
Morocco's position in the international migration equation has evolved significantly. For decades, it was primarily viewed as a source country for migration to Europe. However, it has now become a destination, transit, and residence country, particularly for migrants from sub-Saharan Africa. The adoption of the National Migration and Asylum Strategy clearly demonstrates Morocco's intention to address this phenomenon from a perspective that transcends security approaches by regularizing the status of migrants, facilitating their integration, and respecting their fundamental rights. Consequently, Morocco no longer perceives migration merely as flows to be prevented, but rather as a human, social, and economic phenomenon that necessitates comprehensive public policies.
Challenges in European Cooperation and the Need for Balance
However, Morocco's evolving approach has not been met with a similar transformation in the nature of cooperation with the European Union. Monitoring borders, preventing irregular crossings, and combating smuggling networks remain central to this cooperation, while legal migration pathways, burden-sharing, development support, and expanding professional mobility opportunities are still inadequate in addressing existing challenges. This discussion is not meant to downplay the importance of security cooperation or the necessity of combating human trafficking and protecting lives. Instead, it highlights that reducing the partnership to these functions creates an imbalanced dynamic, placing Morocco in an increasingly responsible position without a corresponding commitment from the European side.
Repeated crises have exposed the limitations of this model. The events in Ceuta in May 2021, which saw thousands of individuals, including children and minors, cross the border, demonstrated how migration is intertwined with political, social, and diplomatic contexts. Similarly, the tragedy in Melilla in June 2022, which resulted in numerous casualties, raised difficult questions about the limitations of security approaches and the urgent need to protect lives and rights. These incidents confirm that border management, no matter how essential, cannot substitute for a comprehensive policy that addresses the root causes of migration, provides legal pathways for movement, and distributes responsibilities among nations more equitably.
Referencing these events does not imply exploiting human tragedies for political disputes; rather, it serves as a strategic lesson: sustainable cooperation cannot be built if Morocco is obliged to act as Europe's southern barrier while other dimensions of the partnership are neglected. Morocco does not reject cooperation with European partners or shy away from its responsibilities in securing its borders and combating smuggling networks. Still, it does refuse to allow this cooperation to devolve into an unequal relationship that reduces its role to merely preventing migrants from reaching the northern shore of the Mediterranean.
Indeed, Europe itself requires migration. The aging population and labor shortages in various essential sectors, from healthcare and caregiving to industry, engineering, and technology, compel European nations to seek skilled labor and expertise. Attracting doctors, engineers, technicians, and others has become part of the policies aimed at maintaining the competitiveness of European economies. Here lies a contradiction that needs addressing: how can nations strive to attract talent from outside their borders while still approaching migration primarily from a perspective of limiting flows, without a comprehensive framework that ensures legal mobility and safeguards the interests of countries of origin?
This is not about preventing Moroccan talent from migrating or restricting citizens' rights to seek better opportunities. Such rights must be respected, and the movement of skilled individuals can be mutually enriching if organized within clear partnerships. However, Morocco is entitled to demand cooperation that goes beyond the selective recruitment of human resources to include joint training, knowledge exchange, and investment in sectors that require qualified skills. It is unfair for recipient economies to benefit from the investments made by countries of origin in educating and training their citizens while these countries bear the sole consequences of the shortages that may arise from their migration, particularly in vital sectors.
Thus, the need arises to shift from traditional models of "safe, orderly, and regular" migration to a new, more equitable, and balanced charter. These principles remain necessary, but they cannot achieve their goals if security is merely reduced to border monitoring, regularity to controlling departures and returns, and organization to restricting legal pathways. Safe migration also begins with providing legal alternatives, respecting migrants' rights, combating their exploitation, facilitating professional mobility, and establishing clear mechanisms for shared responsibility. These commitments cannot be effective if the responsibility for their implementation remains inequitably distributed among partners.
The new charter should be based on a series of practical foundations, including expanding legal migration channels and seasonal work, developing vocational training programs that respond to labor market needs, facilitating the mobility of students, researchers, and skilled individuals, enhancing cooperation in combating human trafficking networks, and ensuring the protection of migrants and their fundamental rights. Security and financial cooperation must be linked to clear developmental goals, and mechanisms should be established for joint evaluation of results to prevent the partnership from being dictated by political circumstances or changing electoral priorities in European countries.
Morocco is well-positioned to propose this transformation, given its experience in managing migration, its geographical location, and its economic and human ties with Europe, as well as the cooperative achievements it has accumulated with its partners. The strategic vision called for in the royal speech presents an opportunity to put forth a clear Moroccan initiative that defines the principles governing the next phase and outlines a practical vision for a more balanced partnership. This initiative should not merely aim to enhance the existing cooperation; it must seek to redefine its objectives and mechanisms, making Moroccan interests an integral part of the formulation of shared policies, rather than merely an afterthought following the establishment of European priorities.
The current challenge is not for Morocco to become more adept at preventing crossings into Europe, but rather for it to be better equipped to negotiate the terms of mobility, cooperation, and development. A genuine partnership should not be measured by the number of migrants prevented from crossing but by its capacity to provide legal alternatives, protect lives, meet labor market needs, uphold migrants' rights, and serve the interests of all parties involved.
It is time to shift from border management to the management of shared interests, from cooperation dominated by security considerations to a balanced strategic partnership. This encapsulates the essence of the win-win principle: Europe should find in Morocco a reliable partner, while Morocco should discover a framework in its relationship with Europe that respects its sovereignty and addresses its developmental, economic, and humanitarian priorities. Continuation of the current model, with its inherent imbalances and recurring crises, will only lead to reproducing the same problems. Therefore, the Moroccan initiative towards a new migration charter is not a call for retreat or disengagement from cooperation but a step towards a more mature, equitable, and sustainable partnership that befits the nature of relations between Morocco and the European Union and the challenges they face together.
As reported by hespress.com.
