This MPC webinar aims to discuss the key issues and policy determinants on migration and mobility that the upcoming Sixth European Union - African Union Summit needs to consider in its deliberations.
The leaders of the EU and the African Union (AU) and their respective member states will meet for the Sixth European Union - African Union summit in Brussels on 17 and 18 February 2022. The Summit will present a unique opportunity to lay the foundations for a renewed and deeper AU-EU partnership based on the outcomes of the second AU-EU Foreign Affairs Ministerial Meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, 25-26 October 2021. The Kigali Declaration reaffirmed the relevance of Migration and Mobility as one of the five key areas identified for partnership. The Summit is expected to deliberate on the Joint Framework for Continent-to-Continent Migration and Mobility Dialogue (C2CMMD), with the aim of further structuring cooperation on migration and mobility, whilst at the same time taking forward cooperation on common priorities: protecting those in need; remittances; diaspora investment; irregular migration; trafficking in human beings and smuggling of migrants; return, readmission and reintegration; and sharing experiences and best practices. This webinar aims to discuss the key issues and policy determinants on migration and mobility that the Summit needs to consider in its deliberations.
Migration policy-making in Africa: determinants and implications for cooperation with Europe, by Mehari Taddele Maru, Migration Policy Centre and School of Transnational Governance, EUI
Abstract
This paper focuses on African policy positions on migration to Europe and towards cooperation on migration with the EU and its Member States. It draws on existing research to discuss the key features and drivers of migration policies in Africa. Paying attention to both commonalities and variations across different national economic and political contexts, the paper discusses seven inter-related factors that inform, influence and determine the policy approaches of African countries: (i) the common view that migration and development are intrinsically linked; (ii) the political regime type and domestic politics (both of which can influence governments’ responsiveness to human rights issues, public demands related to bilateral agreements on migration both from within the country and outside); (iii) the financial gains to be made from cooperation with the EU in the form of development aid as well as remittances; (iv) diplomacy, geographic proximity and routes to Europe; (v) policy and capability limitations of current migration governance structures; (vi) lobbying by migration facilitators and, in some cases, corruption; and (vii) the pan-African agenda of integration, especially on the mobility of persons. Considering the dynamics of past and existing Africa-Europe agreements, I argue that the power asymmetry (financial and diplomatic) between Europe and Africa has distorted the priorities of Africa and created pressure to implement policies that give precedence to Europe’s interests over those of African countries and migrants. The paper further discusses the implications of these dynamics in the Africa-Europe migration partnership, including the challenges and opportunities for more effective cooperation in the future.
Discussant: Amanda Bisong, European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM)
Migration and EU-Africa relations: insights from the negotiations of the Post-Cotonou Agreement, by Maurizio Carbone, University of Glasgow
Abstract
While the renewed partnership between the European Union and Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) may be dismissed by its critics as a relic of the past, the significance of its provisions on migration and mobility cannot be disputed and may mark a turning point on EU-Africa (migration) relations. A detailed mechanism was indeed agreed upon to ensure that EU and ACP states readmit their irregular citizens without conditionality and formalities other than a swift identity verification, with serious consequences if they fail to comply. To do so, this contribution conceptualises EU-OACPS negotiations as a double two-level game, with the EU and the OACPS negotiating teams engaging simultaneously at the international level and their respective domestic levels.
Chair: Linda Oucho, African Migration and Development Policy Centre (AMADPOC)