How does the European Union's migration policy affect Africa and the Middle East?

Street art with the slogan “Leave or stay?” painted during one of the European-funded campaigns in Dakar. Photo: Ida Marie Savio Vammen

Events such as 9/11, economic crises, a general increase in tension around the world and, above all, the so-called refugee crisis in 2015 have led to a trend towards an increasing focus on migration control in international politics over the past 20–30 years, particularly in European Union (EU) politics, known as the EU's externalisation policy.

How is this policy perceived in the partner countries in Africa and the Middle East, and what are the effects for the countries and for the migrants, both those travelling to Europe and those travelling within the regions?

These questions were posed by researchers in the project ‘Effects of Externalisation: EU Migration Management in Africa and the Middle East (EFFEXT)’.

“We wanted to know more about the unintended consequences of this type of policy but also understand what works as intended”, says Cathrine Talleraas, senior researcher at CMI - Chr. Michelsen Institute and project leader for EFFEXT.

“There is by and large political consensus that countries should be able to control their borders, but also that human rights should be upheld and strengthened. So, a key policygoal is to balance these two, and that is why we need to know what works and what doesn’t”, she continues.

The project is a collaboration between researchers in Norway, Denmark and the United Kingdom, as well as researchers in the countries where the project conducted field studies: Ghana, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Senegal and Ethiopia. The idea was to include a broad sample of countries in the Middle East, North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, as all three regions have different policies and contexts regarding migration, which affects the type of cooperation the EU has with them. Some of the countries are mainly countries of origin, others are transit countries and some are destination countries.

From mobility and development to border control

The premise of the project is that migration is generally important for human- and societal development. Human mobility enables contact between regions and labour markets and strengthens them.

“Migration is particularly important for the many developing countries in Africa and the Middle East, as they depend on people being able to travel to other places to work and study and engage with the origin country for instance by transferring money or new knowledge. In addition, some countries in Africa and the Middle East have a long history of war and conflict, and in this context, migration is a strategy for adaptation and survival”, says Talleraas.

However, the reality is that migration control has become a primary focus of the EU's migration policy. In relation to the Middle East, this mainly concerns refugee policy, and in sub-Saharan Africa, it largely aims to prevent irregular migration into Europe.

To control migration, the EU assists in strengthening the knowledge and expertise of partner countries in migration management. The EU helps develop national migration policies and regulations, supports border controls in various ways, and assists with return and re-migration, especially in countries bordering the EU. This has had positive effects such as greater professionalisation and more resources for border controls.

“However, it is debatable whether allocating many resources to border control is the right approach, or whether other priorities should be set. In the past, EU policy focused more on strengthening internal and regional migration in partner countries through initiatives such as free mobility. For many countries it would be more beneficial to prioritise this type of support instead of placing most political focus on controlling and reducing irregular migration. A step in the right direction for the EU would be to look back at what was done before the so-called refugee crisis in 2015 and build on that”, says Talleraas.

The unintended effects of migration policy

Part of the EU's migration policy falls under the category of development aid, as a significant amount of aid funds are allocated to this area. Namely, attempts to address the root causes of emigration from countries by strengthening educational opportunities, for example.

“The idea is that if there are better education and employment opportunities locally, fewer people will migrate irregularly to Europe. But it is not that simple. Research shows that a stronger economy in the home country also provides more resources and capacity for residents to migrate, so this is probably not the best method to prevent emigration to Europe. Support for education and employment is very important, but not when tied to migration control purposes”, says Cathrine Talleraas.

An overall finding of the research, regardless of whether the policy falls under migration control or aid, is that it has less effect than desired in relation to the large sums of money used to implement it.

For example, an experiment in a local migrant transit area in Ghana, showed that information campaigns, which are one of many methods of migration management, do not have the desired effect. Neither campaigns highlighting the dangers of irregular migration nor those highlighting the opportunities of staying in the country have any significant effect on people's intentions to migrate. However, research shows that the EU's migration policy has unintended ripple effects.

“A side effect is that the EU's migration policy creates challenges for trust, both in organisations working with migration in the countries, but also between partner countries and the EU. This is particularly a problem in connection with how aid funds are allocated and used. No country would decline aid funds, but it may be perceived as unjust if money that ideally should go to those who need it most is instead allocated and used to try to prevent migration. This risks partner countries losing trust in the fundamental values that Europe stands for and which have historically been the basis for this type of cooperation”, says Talleraas.

What can the EU do to improve and make its migration policy more effective?

Cathrine Talleraas recommends an increased focus on facilitating legal migration channels and providing more information on how to migrate legally to neighbouring countries, to Europe and elsewhere.

“We also see a need for more knowledge and understanding of local contexts. The EU should move away from the current ‘one size fits all’ approach to be more effective in its migration policy, and research plays an important role here as we can contribute with the contextualised knowledge that is needed”, she says.

Another challenge is that partner countries experience that the partnership with the EU is primarily based on European political preferences and to a lesser extent takes into account what the partner countries themselves consider important in relation to migration.

“The EU should focus more on the rights aspect of this policy. Many of the countries want more ownership and co-determination in migration issues that affect their country. Increased co-decision making by the partner countries will lead to more sustainable solutions that include local actors and needs, rather than measures based primarily on European political objectives”, says Talleraas.