Mauritania is getting €210 million in EU funding to act as a migration gatekeeper to fortress Europe. The northwest African nation has intensified its role as Europe’s southern migration police—intercepting over 30,000 migrants in 2025 and dismantling smuggling networks. While the EU considers Nouakchott as a major partner, growing reports of human rights abuses, deportations, and corruption raise concerns about the costs of this strategy. As migration shifts from the Mediterranean to the more perilous Atlantic route toward the Canary Islands, Mauritania is under increasing scrutiny for how it balances enforcement with humanitarian obligations, according to a special report from Mondafrique.