EU support to partner countries on migration and forced displacement

Migration and forced displacement are global phenomena. To better manage migration and mobility along the various migratory routes, address the challenges, and harness the opportunities stemming from international migration, as well as to promote safe and legal alternatives to irregular migration, the EU works jointly with third countries and international partners at bilateral, regional and multilateral levels. This engagement is especially important in the neighbourhood of the EU, both in the South and in the East, as well as in the Western Balkan region.

Following a comprehensive approach to migration and asylum, as per the guidelines of the European Council, the external dimension of EU migration policies focuses on several key areas. These include the protection of vulnerable migrants, asylum seekers and refugees, legal migration and labour mobility, addressing the root causes of irregular migration, combating smuggling of migrants and trafficking in human beings, strengthening border management capacities of partner countries, in addition to the returns of irregularly staying migrants from the EU to their countries of origin, as well as the support to voluntary returns and sustainable reintegration of returnees in their countries of origin.

The EU adopts a whole-of-route approach in its cooperation with countries of origin and transit along the main migratory routes. This cooperation, carried out in synergy with dedicated EU Agencies like the European Border and Coast Guard Agency Frontex, the EU Asylum Agency (EUAA) and Europol, helps partner countries manage migratory flows more effectively.

Migration policies should not be dealt with in isolation. The EU Pact on Migration and Asylum foresees embedding migration within comprehensive, balanced, tailor-made and mutually beneficial partnerships with countries of origin and transit, which can deliver mutual benefits in areas like the economy, development, education and skills, stability and security and people-to-people contacts.

Following this approach, over the course of the years, the EU has been strengthening its partnership with key countries of origin and transit along the different migratory routes, in full coordination with EU Member States as Team Europe, notably through the adoption of several regional EU action Plans.

Southern Neighbourhood

North Africa

“Migration and mobility” is one of the key EU policy priorities in the Southern Neighbourhood, as stated in the New Agenda for the Mediterranean (2021).

Support to migration management in the North of Africa region has been channelled through two main financing instruments:

The Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation (NDICI) – Global Europe Instrument (2021-2027) builds on successful actions carried out under the EUTF and the European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI) for the period 2014-2020.

In this framework, the MULTI-ANNUAL INDICATIVE PROGRAMME FOR A MULTI-COUNTRY MIGRATION PROGRAMME FOR THE SOUTHERN NEIGHBOURHOOD (2021-2027) - European Commission (europa.eu) (henceforth ‘MIP Migration 2021-2027’) sets out EU’s priorities for the programming of migration-related actions in the Southern Neighbourhood. Adopted in November 2022, it focuses on four priority areas:

1. Providing assistance and protection to forcibly displaced persons, including asylum seekers, refugees, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), and other persons in need, including migrants in vulnerable situations, as well as host communities notably in North Africa through a multi-sectoral and sustainable approach. Examples of protection assistance interventions include, for instance, support to access to basic services, such as health and education, as well as legal and psychosocial support to migrants, refugees and other people in need of protection.

2. Strengthening asylum and migration governance and management. Support in this area aims at reinforcing the institutional capacities of partner countries to put in place better migration and asylum policies, legislation, procedures and institutions, in line with international protection standards and human rights law. This includes, for example, capacity building and targeted training for border authorities to strengthen their operational capacity to conduct border surveillance and search and rescue operations in respect of human rights, as well as to enhance the detection of irregular migrants and of victims of trafficking, supporting the effective prosecution of organised criminal groups engaged in migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings.

3. Fostering return, readmission and sustainable reintegration. Under this priority, the EU supports migrants who decide to voluntarily return to their countries of origin, by providing direct assistance before departure, and by supporting their socioeconomic integration upon their return to countries of origin, including through the involvement of relevant local authorities.

4. Supporting a comprehensive approach to legal migration and mobility. The EU supports partner countries through programmes that aim at the upskilling and re-skilling of the local labour force and at spurring legal mobility towards the EU - to the benefit of partner countries’ and EU’s Member States labour markets, in full accordance with EU’s Member States and third countries’ interests and priorities.

Between 2021 and 2023, an overall budget of €691 million of NDICI funding has been allocated to migration-related actions in the North of Africa region. Across the duration of the multiannual programming period (2021-2027), budget allocations will be divided along the 4 different priorities of the MIP Migration 2021-2027 (27.6% for priority 1, 49.6% for priority 2, 15.2% for priority 3 and 7% for priority 4). In order to make progress on such priorities the Commission is working closely with partner countries, UN agencies, civil society organisations, international organisations and other implementing partners at programming level.

Furthermore, the EU has concluded comprehensive, mutually beneficial partnerships with Tunisia and Egypt in areas such as economic cooperation and trade, energy, digital, people-to-people contacts and migration. In addition, Talent Partnerships with Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt aim at establishing mutually beneficial labour mobility opportunities between these countries and the EU. These programmes analyse market needs, invest in curricular updates, training and skills development in relevant sectors, connect employers and job seekers and often support circular mobility schemes.

To complement the EU-level efforts and offer an important extra-dimension to such strategic and comprehensive partnerships, the EU and Member States have launched two Team Europe Initiatives (TEI) on migration in December 2022, aiming at a comprehensive Team Europe approach to the Atlantic/Western Mediterranean and Central Mediterranean migration routes. Actions taken under the TEIs may focus on the full range of migration-related activities, including support to capacity building and equipment, and support partners in their own work on refugee protection, asylum and return.

Regional response to the Syrian refugee crisis

After more than thirteen years of conflict, the EU remains committed to help the Syrian people to live in dignity and peace and to find a sustainable peaceful solution, in line with Security Council Resolution 2254.

On 27 May 2024 the EU organised and hosted in Brussels the eighth Brussels Conference on "Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region". The EU and its Member States have been the largest donors supporting people in Syria and the region since the beginning of the crisis in 2011, mobilizing more than €33 billion overall. In 2024, the total amount pledged by the EU and its Member States amounted to almost €6 billion, with €2.12 billion pledged by the European Commission for 2024 and 2025, reaffirming them as the largest donor to the Syria response.

The support to people in Syria and the region is channelled through the following two main instruments:

Türkiye

Overall, Türkiye hosts one of the largest refugee populations worldwide. Since 2015, Türkiye has seen an unprecedented influx of people seeking refuge from Syria which to date stands at around 3.1 million. Furthermore, the increasing political instability across its Eastern border has brought around 300 000 asylum-seekers and refugees from other countries including Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and Somalia.

The EU is committed to assisting Türkiye in dealing with this joint challenge. The March 2016 EU-Turkey Statement provides the overall framework for the cooperation on migration. On 29 November 2023, the European Commission and the European External Action Service adopted a Joint Communication on EU-Türkiye political, economic and trade relations. Its recommendations include - inter alia - to step up cooperation on migration and continue providing support to refugees and host communities in Türkiye.

This commitment is also highlighted in the EU Action Plan for the Eastern Mediterranean route of 18 October 2023, in which the EU is dedicated to support Türkiye in managing migration effectively through continued cooperation on preventing irregular departures and combatting migrant smuggling; support to its border management capacities; strengthen the national asylum and reception systems; and continued engagement to enhance returns and readmission cooperation as provided for in the EU-Turkey Statement and the EU-Turkey readmission agreement.

To date the EU has allocated close to €900 million to support migration and border management in Türkiye.

Eastern Neighbourhood

Migration management and mobility are a clear priority of the Joint Communication on the Eastern Partnership - Eastern Partnership policy beyond 2020 and the Joint Staff Working Document - Recovery, resilience and reform: post 2020 Eastern Partnership priorities.

The Commission’s Communication on pre-enlargement reforms and policy reviews from March 2024 further highlights the importance of a comprehensive migration and border management within the enlargement process, which now also includes Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia as candidate countries.

Following the adoption of the Pact on Migration and Asylum in May 2024, all the accessing countries will be expected to align their legal frameworks to further enhance the comprehensive migration management, with particular focus on the fight against migrant smuggling, effective returns and reintegration and legal pathways.

Within the Eastern Partnership framework, the EU currently supports the implementation of agreements on visa facilitation (with Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus[1]) and readmission (all partners), as well as continued cooperation on visa liberalisation and readmission with Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, and the implementation of the Commission's recommendations on visa suspension.

The EU actively contributes to strengthening migration management and capacity building in this area, including through cooperation with relevant EU agencies, notably the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex). Cooperation with Frontex includes joint work on the renewal of bilateral working agreements between the Eastern Partnership countries. Subject to operational needs, negotiation of status agreements with Eastern Partnership countries on deploying European Border and Coast Guard teams is considered.

NDICI programmes in this area include:

In Ukraine, through the €20.5 million Integrated Border Management programme, the EU supports border management continuity and strengthening of Ukrainian border management agencies.
In Moldova, as part of the 2023 EU Support Package for the Republic of Moldova, the EU has allocated €4 million to support capacities of Moldovan police and border guards as well as customs services.
In Georgia, an EU support of €1.9 million was allocated in 2023 to mainstreaming migration into development processes, improving migration governance and border management.

Finally, the EU and partner countries are also working to implement balanced and mutually beneficial partnerships between Eastern Partnership countries to facilitate legal migration, mobility and people-to-people contacts.

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[1] Cooperation with Belarus has been suspended since 2020, in line with relevant Council Conclusions (October 2020, February 2022, February 2024) and subsequent sanctions, including related to border management. In June 2021, Belarus also withdrew participation in the EaP framework. Additionally, the Visa Facilitation agreement with Belarus, effective since 1 July 2020, has been partially suspended for Belarus government officials since 9 November 2021.

Western Balkans

The Western Balkans are a strategic priority for the EU regarding the EU accession process. Border and migration management along the Western Balkan route is a joint endeavour, and the current positive trends, with a decrease of irregular border crossings by 70% in 2024, are a result of the strong cooperation with partners in the region.

Since 2021, the EU has supported the Western Balkans with more than €350 million to improve migration management in the region. This includes the latest €60 million package adopted in 2024 for Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro and North Macedonia. This package covers €47 million of support to further strengthen the migration governance and fight against organised crime and a €13 million programme to operationalise effective return management systems in the Western Balkans, in line with EU standards.

In line with the Western Balkan partners’ commitments in the EU accession process, the EU is working to ensure visa policy alignment with the EU, which is crucial for the good functioning of the visa free regime of the Western Balkans with the EU.

The EU supports the Western Balkan partners in the area of migration and border management through its financial assistance provided under the Instrument for pre-accession assistance (IPA III), with a particular focus on the fight against smuggling networks, border management, judicial and police cooperation and the strengthening of operational capacities. Support, training, deployment of border officials and equipment has been delivered in coordination with Member States’ bilateral actions and based on the needs identified by the Western Balkans authorities. A regional programme worth €36 million focused on anti-smuggling in the Western Balkans was launched in June 2023, focusing on supporting law enforcement and judicial cooperation against criminal networks and increasing border management capacities. The EU has also concluded status agreements with Albania, Montenegro, and Serbia, allowing Frontex to deploy the European Border and Coast Guard standing corps to joint operations in the region. A similar status agreement was signed with North Macedonia in October 2022 with operations launched in April 2023.

The EU is committed to strengthen the asylum capacity of Western Balkan partners as part of the accession perspective, through improved statistics and mechanisms for identification, registration and referral of mixed migratory movements; supporting reception and protection as well as the management of returns across the region through bilateral support and an ongoing IPA programme.

Additional support is provided to the region in the area of border management though a programme implemented by FRONTEX aimed at aligning IBM strategies of Western Balkan partners with European ones. The support aims to further increase the level of implementation of Frontex Status Agreements and the establishment of National Coordination Centres (NCC) in the Western Balkans.