Spain and France strengthen collaboration on police training

Spain and France have signed an agreement to strengthen bilateral collaboration on the training of police officers and the home affairs departments for both countries. The Minister for Home Affairs, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, and his French counterpart, Gérald Darmanin, signed a Declaration of Intent during the summit between France and Spain held this Thursday in Barcelona.

The commitment reached will promote exchanges of personnel and high-level joint training "to enable them to better understand the evolving nature of public security threats and to respond more effectively to risks and crises that may threaten the fundamental interests and security of both countries", according to the document signed by the two ministers.

The Institute of Higher Studies at the Ministry of Home Affairs for the French Republic (IHEMI) will participate in the annual organisation in Spain of training sessions for specialists from Spanish state law enforcement forces and agencies and administrations, focusing on areas of mutual interest, such as crisis management or preventing serious forms of crime.

The agreement provides for the organisation of seminars, training courses and sessions, as well as the exchange of information, studies and publications on issues of internal security, organisation and operation of the state law enforcement forces and agencies.

The sharing of experiences, expertise and good practices is also envisaged through mutual hosting of managers and promotion of initiatives to disseminate specialised documentation.

Priorities for the Spanish Presidency of the EU

During the previous meeting between the two ministers, Grande-Marlaska informed his French counterpart of Spain's priorities in the area of home affairs with a view to the upcoming Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which will take place in the second half of the year.

Among the planned objectives, the Spanish minister highlighted the fight against terrorism, radicalisation, organised crime and serious crime; the promotion of prevention and anticipation in the face of various common challenges for the European Union, such as civil protection and road safety; and the improvement of collaboration, interoperability and exchange of information and best practices in the policing field.

On migration issues, Grande-Marlaska stressed the importance of defending the Schengen Area and the need to continue making progress on the Migration and Asylum Pact, with the external dimension as a priority in order to strengthen cooperation with the countries of origin and transit of irregular migration. In this regard, Grande-Marlaska cited the Spanish migration policy as an example, which, by applying this formula, has managed to reduce irregular arrivals for the third year in a row, in this case with a 26.5 percent decrease compared to 2021.

Non official translation