Immigration is on the agenda of the European Council which takes place in Brussels until Friday October 17. Between calling into question the right to asylum, accelerating expulsions or opening detention centers in third countries, these new proposals promise a tightening of European rules. They come in particular from Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, signing a new turn of the migratory screw. However, many already complain that the criteria are too strict to obtain the Schengen visa, like the Moroccans.
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With our correspondent in Casablanca, François Hume-Ferkatadji
Ahmed is 14 years old. After classes at his college in Tangier, Moroccohe assiduously frequents the cultural center in his neighborhood and practices theater. For years already, he has been preparing a possible departure in Spain or in France. “ I really want to leave, because I want to evolve, improve, study. Here in Morocco, it’s more complicated, the level is not good, I will learn better there and there are more job offers “, he believes.
Young people like Ahmed number in the thousands in Morocco. But not everyone manages to obtain the famous visa to study, work or visit Europe. Morocco is the second country in the world with the highest number of rejections for visa applications to France. Some attempt the irregular crossing.
A resident of Fnideq, a town in the north of the country, witnessed an attempted crossing last month to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. More than 3,000 young Moroccans have tried to reach the tiny European territory.
“ I understand these young people, because it is too hard for them here, there is no possibility of getting a good education, nor of earning a decent living, so they suffer here. My own son crossed the border illegally, he is in Madrid now », he notes.
In 2021, France had already decided to halve the number of visas granted to Moroccans, causing high tensions between the two countriesbefore reversing his decision a year later.
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