11/10/2023
Grande-Marlaska met with the POC-Mauritania team, a European project led by the FIIAPP together with the National Police to combat human trafficking and smuggling.
The acting Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, and the Vice President of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas, met this Wednesday in Nouakchott (Mauritania) with the President of the country, Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, and other members of his government, with whom they have addressed the current situation of migration routes in the Atlantic and have strengthened the ways of cooperation in the fight against mafias trafficking in human beings.
In the meeting with President Ghazouani, the acting Minister of the Interior stressed that “the fight against irregular immigration is not only a common bilateral challenge between Spain and Mauritania, but also a shared responsibility with the European Union”.
After the audience with the Mauritanian president, Grande-Marlaska and Schinas visited the offices of the project led by the FIIAPP, POC Mauritania, a European project to fight human smuggling and trafficking, in which specialists of the Spanish National Police mobilized by the FIIAPP work with the Mauritanian Security Forces in the dismantling of mafias.
The Spanish agents participating in this project are in addition to the Policía nacional and Guardia Civil personnel deployed in Mauritania, mainly in Nouadhibou and Nouakchott, and dedicated to patrolling and investigations against smuggling and trafficking networks, which they carry out jointly with the Mauritanian authorities.
The European Union is funding a project to create a joint operational team (POC) to support the fight against migrant smuggling and human trafficking and to improve the management of irregular migration in Mauritania.
Joint Operational Partnerships (POC) and Joint Investigation Teams (ECI) are teams formed by European law enforcement agencies working as mentors with their counterparts in West and Central Africa.
The ECI methodology, based mainly on continuous mentoring and training and Joint Operational Partnerships (POC), has been implemented in various countries in the region such as Senegal, Ivory Coast, Guinea Conakry, Gambia and Mali. Its objective is to contribute to the effective fight against migrant smuggling and human trafficking and to improve irregular immigration management capacities by supporting security forces.
POC-Mauritania is led by Spain (Ministry of Interior and FIIAPP), and financed by the European Union’s Emergency Trust Fund.
In addition, the European Union is funding the NETCOP project, which aims to establish a network between POCs and ECIs in West and Central Africa. The national police forces of France and Spain are working with their African counterparts to achieve this
