Migrants arrive at the port of Algeciras, Spain, on July 28, 2018 | Jorge Guerrero/AFP via Getty Images Spain asks EU for emergency funds to cope with migration Commission said it is considering the request.

The European Commission is considering a request from Spain for emergency EU funds because of increased migrant arrivals at the country's southern coast, a Commission spokesperson said Monday.

"Spain has requested additional emergency assistance, which we have received and are now assessing swiftly," said Commission spokeswoman Natasha Bertaud at a press briefing.

Bertaud said the trend is "not new" and that EU leaders had already promised Spain more support at a Council summit in June. Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported that Madrid had now requested €35 million, citing the office of the Spanish vice president.

Since 2016, migrants have increasingly taken the Western Mediterranean route through Morocco and the strait of Gibraltar, and Spain has now become the main point of entry into the EU from the Mediterranean as a clampdown on the route between Libya and Italy has taken hold.

Newspaper El País reported Monday that it had seen EU documents that warn Morocco has relaxed its border controls, reportedly because Rabat wants more money and logistical support from the EU.

When asked about the report, Bertaud said the EU was set to increase its financial aid to Morocco to support border controls.

"European cooperation in the field of migration with Morocco spans back 10 years. In fact, they are our oldest partner in terms of technical and financial support in this area," she said.

Bertaud later said the total funding to Morocco now amounts to €100 million.

As of July 18, 18,600 migrants had reached Spain by sea from Morocco since the beginning of this year, according to the U.N.’s International Organization for Migration, double the number for the same period in 2017 — although these numbers are still orders of magnitude smaller than the levels reached in 2015 in Greece.