# taz.de -- EU migration policy in Adrica: Between Aid and Paternalism
> Three cities stand for EU migration policy in Africa: Rabat, Karthum and
> Valetta. Those were the places of negotiations about money and
> readmission.
(IMG) Bild: Angela Merkel and Ghanas president John Dramani Mahama in Valetta
It all began in Rabat. In July 2006, the EU and Africa Ministers
responsible for migration and development met in the Moroccan capital to
discuss a common refugee policy. Emphasis was on border management, the
integration of irregular migration and refugee protection.
The „Euro-African Dialogue“ on migration and development, as the Federal
Government calls it, is a decisive factor for the states of ECOWAS. Fair
and balanced should be the dialogue, migration was seen as an opportunity
for social and economic development – at least on paper.
The „Overall Approach to Migration and Mobility“ (GAMM), adopted in 2011,
which sets the framework for the external dimension of the EU's migration
policy, pointed in another direction: the curbing of irregular migration.
The same is true of the so-called Karthum process, which was launched in
Rome at a successor conference to Rabat in late 2014. It has a different
regional focus; This time the countries of the Horn of Africa were in the
forefront. But here, too, the main focus is on laying trappings and taming
the refugee routes to Europe.
## „Good governance“
The EU is based on authoritarian regimes and „failed states“. The
non-governmental organization „Human Rights Watch“ therefore reported
serious concerns as early as 2015, since the foreclosure could also take
people who fled ethnic or political persecution in their countries of
origin. The EU should not blindly help countries such as Sudan, Eritrea,
Ethiopia and Somalia, but should ensure that their governments do not
produce more refugees, warns HRW Director Judith Sunderland.
The EU Commission in Brussels replies that it is also concerned with „good
governance“ and respect for human rights. „We need to deal with the
hardships of the dramatic living conditions of people who risk their lives
to find a better future,“ said EU Foreign Affairs Commissioner Federica
Mogherini at the start of the Karthum trial in Rome. „But we also need to
look at the causes of irregular migration: poverty, conflict, lack of
resources.“
Between 2004 and 2014, according to the Commission, more than EUR 1 billion
has been invested in more than 400 projects on development and migration,
half of which go to Africa. This makes the EU a world leader in this field.
However, it is not always clear whether the focus is on development aid or
paternalism. Recent doubts are emerging. Given the refugee crisis in the
Aegean and the Balkans in 2015, the EU has focused even more on the control
and defense of „irregular“ migration.
## Vage Versprechen
In the autumn of 2015 a separate EU-Africa summit took place in Valletta on
the Mediterranean island of Malta. The summit went back to an initiative of
Chancellor Angela Merkel. As demanded by Merkel, he concentrated on the
„fight against smuggling criminality and causes of fugitives“ as well as on
the „return of refugees“. To this end, the projects launched in Rabat and
Khartoum should be intensified and linked with the EU-Africa dialogue.
In addition, a „Nothilfetrustfond für Afrika“ was launched, which was
initially endowed with € 1.8 billion by the EU Commission and the budgets
of development cooperation. Germany contributed modestly three million
euros from national funds, and all 28 EU countries combined only 82
million. The money is meant to help promote „stability“ in Africa – through
the creation of jobs and the safeguarding of the basic supply of food, but
also through an improved „migration management“ and „conflict prevention“.
A year later the record is sobering. Although the fund has now grown to 2.5
billion euros. However, up to now 64 projects have been allocated only one
billion. The promises made in Valletta were „vague“, many projects still
await their implementation, criticizes the Dutch development expert Bob Van
Dillen.
Valletta is also seen as an intermediate stage on the road to the most
comprehensive migration control possible. Therefore, it is not only working
on a second Valletta summit to be held in early 2017. In addition, the
implementation of the various programs and targets is to be accelerated and
deepened through so-called migration partnerships.
A first deal has just been signed with Mali; Next, the EU wants to focus on
Niger. But in these countries, the limits of the new Africa strategy are
also evident. For Niger and Mali are shaken by terror and war, which
provoke continually new escape movements. In Mali the EU is therefore
deployed with a military training mission, in Niger with a civil-military
training mission for the local security forces. Because both countries are
still vulnerable (and dangerous), the deployments have been extended until
2018. Only then could the situation stabilize.
Nevertheless, the European Commission is taking a positive view. Thus, the
number of migrants migrating from Niger through the desert to the north
fell from 70,000 in May to 1,500 in November. In addition, 102 tugs were
imprisoned by the judiciary and 95 vehicles seized. The number of
repatriations from Europe has also increased. „Niger is our greatest
success story,“ experts from the EU Commission are pleased.
15 Dec 2016
## AUTOREN
(DIR) Eric Bonse
## TAGS
(DIR) migControl
## ARTIKEL ZUM THEMA