State Secretary for Security addresses fight against terrorism and control of migratory flows with her French counterpart in Paris

This meeting takes place following on from the meeting between the French Minister for Home Affairs, Christophe Castaner, and the Spanish Minister for Home Affairs, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, in Madrid on 12 November.

As regards security, the two State secretaries highly rated the excellent existing cooperation between the law enforcement agencies of the two countries, as well as between their respective intelligence services. Cooperation between Spain and France has proved to be effective in the fight against organised crime and was decisive in defeating the terrorist group ETA. It is now proving essential in the fight against Jihadi terrorism.

The two State secretaries also agreed to cooperate on controlling illegal immigration at the same level as cooperation on security issues.

To achieve this goal, they decided to step up coordination to support and cooperate with Morocco in controlling illegal immigration. It is necessary for the European Union to provide, in a reasonable time, a coherent financial effort to support Morocco in its activity to fight the human trafficking mafias and in controlling illegal immigration flows towards Europe.

Ana Botella and Laurent Nunez also decided to strengthen joint border management between the two countries. This coordination, which will be materialised on the part of France by a coordinator, who will soon be appointed, will allow the functioning of the four police and border cooperation centres on the border between France and Spain to be optimised, as well as to strengthen the number of joint patrols in border zones.

This will also allow the methods to implement the 2002 bilateral agreement on readmission and procedures for handovers on the border to be firmed up.

The two State Secretaries recalled in this context their commitment to the validity of the Schengen free movement area, recognising, in turn, the importance of the temporary re-establishment of internal border controls within the European Union on grounds of the terrorist threat.

As regards the Common European Asylum System, Ana Botella and Laurent Nunez underlined their commitment to revising the Dublin Regulation, with the aim of guaranteeing shared responsibility and solidarity between Member States and to more effectively fight unlawful secondary migratory flows within the European Union, whilst guaranteeing the right to effective asylum for refugees in search of international protection.

France and Spain will work together to help make progress on European negotiations with the aim of carrying out a reform of the Common European Asylum System as soon as possible, in order to effectively tackle the current and future migratory flows in a lasting manner.

The State secretary, who was accompanied by the Director-General for International Relations and Immigration of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Elena Garzón, took the opportunity of her visit to Paris to meet with those responsible for the Spanish embassy in the French capital, including the Home Affairs Attachés and liaison officers with the French authorities.

Non official translation