Spain and Algeria Reactivate Repatriation Agreement – Implications for the Balearic Islands

New cooperation with Algeria: What is planned now

The Spanish interior minister traveled this week to Algiers to address a delicate issue: irregular migration across the western Mediterranean. There, representatives of both countries agreed to crack down more on smuggling networks and to put a repatriation agreement from the early 2000s back into force. In short: more cooperation, more information sharing, more controls.

Why this matters for us on the Balearic Islands

You can feel it here: The main route has shifted. While total arrivals in Spain by mid-October were down about 36%, the Balearic Islands recorded a significant increase – officially around 75% more than the previous year. Last Monday, two boats carrying a total of 42 people landed in our waters, one near Formentera, the other toward Cabrera. Much indicates that intensified controls elsewhere push movements northward and westward.

What Madrid and Algiers exactly plan: A joint commission should assess whether the old agreement needs modernization. They also want agencies to share information faster, fight forged travel documents, and curb the use of fast, small boats.

Between politics and reality

Cooperation is politically sensitive. Relations in North Africa have not been without tensions for several years, and questions about Western Sahara play a role. Algeria has repeatedly stressed that migration should not be used as a bargaining chip – a statement followed with careful attention here.

At the same time, aid organizations and UN statistics indicate that many of the arrivals originate from Algeria: according to UN figures, in the first eight months of this year more than half of the irregular entrants came from this country. Morocco and Somalia follow, but the numbers show why Spain is seeking talks with Algiers right now.

What people on the ground feel

At the port of Palma, people discuss it over a coffee: for many it means more controls at sea and on land, for others mainly more deployments by the coast guard and police. And honestly: the situation sometimes feels like a patchwork – a little more security in one place, more movements in another.

Conclusion: Reactivating the agreement is a step, but not a quick fix. As long as faulty documents, smuggling networks and political tensions persist, the situation remains volatile. The Balearics are likely to stay in focus – at least until the routes shift again.