Call for responsibility in the use of European funds and human rights violations in Mauritania

Question for written answer E-003462/2025
to the Commission
Rule 144
Estrella Galán (The Left), Jaume Asens Llodrà (Verts/ALE), Vicent Marzà Ibáñez (Verts/ALE)

A report by Human Rights Watch[1] documents serious human rights violations against migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in Mauritania, including torture, collective expulsions and inhumane detention conditions. The practices have been facilitated by migration control projects in Spain and the EU, involving at least EUR 61 million in European funds between 2015 and 2023.

While the Commission guarantees that the projects include contractual clauses requiring respect for fundamental rights, insufficient safeguards have been put in place to prevent abuse. In 2024, the EU approved a further EUR 100 million for migration cooperation with Mauritania[2] but failed to provide transparency on how the funds would be distributed.

In light of the above:

• 1.What steps is the Commission taking to ensure that EU funds - including those awarded in 2024 - are not associated with the human rights violations documented by Human Rights Watch in Mauritania?
• 2.What action will the Commission take if it detects breaches of human rights clauses in the projects funded?
• 3.How does the Commission monitor the involvement of Member States, such as Spain, in the implementation of those funds and the protection of the rights of migrants and refugees?

Submitted: 5.9.2025

• [1] https://www.hrw.org/report/2025/08/27/they-accused-me-of-trying-to-go-to-europe/migration-control-abuses-and-eu.
• [2] https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/speech_25_245.