MADRID, Oct 10 (Reuters) – Spain’s Interior Minister on Thursday asked the European border agency Frontex to seek permission from African nations to patrol their waters in a bid to “save lives” on the perilous irregular migration route from the continent to the nearby Canary Islands archipelago.
Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said Frontex had operated in African territory during the last peak of migration to the Canary Islands in 2006, and already worked with Spain’s border forces gathering intelligence in the Canary Islands.
Now, it should seek permission from Mauritania, Senegal and Gambia – countries of origin and transit for migrants crossing the Atlantic to Europe on precarious fishing boats – to take on human traffickers and curb departures.
Frontex could only truly protect Europe’s borders from irregular migration if it operated outside of them as well, he said.