EC announces New Migration Partnership Framework

8 Jun 2016 11:33 AM

The European Commission has yesterday set out plans for a new results-oriented Partnership Framework tomobilise and focus EU action and resources in our external work on managing migration. The EU will seek tailor made partnerships with key third countries of origin and transit using all policies and instruments at the EU's disposal to achieve concrete results. Building on the European Agenda on Migration, the priorities are saving lives at sea, increasing returns, enabling migrants and refugees to stay closer to home and, in the long term, helping third countries' development in order to address root causes of irregular migration. Member State contributions in these partnerships – diplomatic, technical and financial – will be of fundamental importance in delivering results.

First Vice-President Frans Timmermans said: "To stop the unacceptable loss of life in the Mediterranean Sea and bring order into migratory flows, we need to rethink how the EU and its Member States join efforts to work together with third countries. The Commission proposes a new partnership framework: starting with a first group of priority third countries, compacts tailored to the circumstances of each of them will mobilise all our policies and tools to achieve these objectives, tapping into the EU’s collective influence in close coordination with Member States and focusing our resources including through the swift deployment of €8 billion over the next five years. We will also work on an ambitious External Investment Plan to help create opportunities and tackle the root causes of migration. Without concrete results from our partners in managing migration better, we should collectively be ready to adapt our engagement and financial aid."

High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini added: "Millions of people are on the move worldwide and we can only manage this if we act globally, in full partnership. For this reason, we are proposing a new approach for strong partnerships with key countries. Our goal, while staying focused on saving lives at sea and dismantling smugglers' networks, is to support the countries that host so many people and foster growth in our partner countries. We are ready to increase financial and operational support and to invest in long-term economic and social development, security, rule of law and human rights, improving people’s life and tackling the drivers of migration. Our duty, and also our interest, is to give people the chance and the means for a safe and decent life. It is a responsibility Europe shares with the rest of the world: we can only do it together. "

Migratory pressure is the 'new normal' both for the EU and for partner countries and is part of a broader global displacement crisis. Responding together in a meaningful way requires a more coordinated, systematic and structured approach, matching the EU's interests and the interests of our partners. The renewed partnership with third countries will take the form of tailored "compacts" that will be developed according to the situation and needs of each partner country, depending on whether they are a country of origin, country of transit or a country hosting many displaced persons. In the short term we will deliver compacts with Jordan and Lebanon and take steps to agree further ones with Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Mali and Ethiopia. We also intend to increase our engagement with Tunisia and Libya.

The full range of EU policies and EU external instruments will be brought to bear:

Background

Europe is experiencing unprecedented irregular migratory flows, driven by geopolitical and economic factors. They are fuelled by unscrupulous smugglers who seek to benefit from the desperation of the vulnerable. The past year, since the adoption of the European Agenda on Migration, has shown that migration policy inside and outside the Union has a direct link. Credible action inside the EU to discourage smuggling and irregular entry and to show that legal pathways exist is critically important to achieving our external goals.

The EU has already taken many steps in the past year to upgrade its work with external partners. High-Level Dialogues on Migration and the reviews European Neighbourhood Policy have brought a new focus on relations with key countries on migration. The Valletta Summit in November 2015 brought migration issues to the heart of the EU's relations with the African continent. Cooperation with Turkey has been fundamental in tackling the exploitation of vulnerable people seeking to cross the Aegean Sea. It has ensured greater humanitarian assistance in Turkey in parallel with opening new legal channels to the EU. The EU-Turkey Statement established new ways to bring order into migration flows and save lives. The interlocking of migration management by both parties has brought an unprecedented degree of cooperation.

The Western Balkans Leaders Meeting of 25 October and the subsequent weekly videoconferences have also led to a strong coordination and improved information-sharing between EU Member States and our immediate neighbours along another important migratory route.

EU financial instruments are helping create a better future closer to home for those who might otherwise have been ready to risk their lives on the dangerous irregular journey to Europe from different locations. The Regional Trust Fund for Syria, Emergency Trust Fund for Africa andFacility for Refugees in Turkey have complimented existing financial programmes.

For more information

Communication on establishing a New Partnership Framework with third countries under the European Agenda on Migration

Annex 1: Illegal border crossings to the EU, return decisions and effective returns, 2014-2015

Annex 2: High-Level Dialogues

Annex 3: Examples of major ongoing EU funded actions

Annex 4: Financial pledging and contributions by the Member States to the Trust Funds and the Facility for Refugees in Turkey

FACTSHEET: A New Partnership Framework

MEMO: Towards a new Partnership Framework with third countries under the European Agenda on Migration

Press Materials on the European Agenda on Migration

EU-Turkey Statement

Western Balkans Leaders Meeting

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