of financing families can be formalised for greater developmental impact. Furthermore, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and the UN Capital Development Fund are leading a process to help harmonise the different rules governing remittances. 37 The long-term vision is to create coherent frameworks to support remittance flows. For Africans(both at home and in the diaspora), this will be a lifeline. 6. International protection International protection remains critical, as people are forced to migrate for various reasons, including conflict, other situations of violence, persecution and climate disasters. The AU and the EU need to develop a long-term plan for inclusive protection that is rooted in international law(including international human rights law). This may prove the most difficult, as the New Pact proposes sweeping changes to the asylum-seeking and refugee processes in Europe. Ironically, in the field, Europe can learn from Africa. African countries host almost a third of the world's refugees with very limited resources. 38 Some of these countries are already rolling out the UN Refugee Agency's (UNHCR's) comprehensive refugee response framework. However, to ensure success, they do need support – financial and technical. At the same time, there was a drastic increase in the number of asylum applications in the EU in 2022. According to the European Commission, there were 924,000 applications in 2022 compared to 630,000 in 2021. 39 This would not include the four million Ukrainians granted special protection by the EU following the Russian invasion. However, this total is still 400,000 less than the 2015 peak of 1.3 million, which saw many Syrians and Afghans flee war. Supporting refugee host communities in both continents is instrumental in international protection. 40 The Global Compact for Refugees provides a useful guide on how best to do this, including through combining humanitarian support for refugees and host communities with development plans. 7. Conclusion Migration and mobility are important aspects of the relationship between Africa and Europe. However, they are also increasingly the most contentious and divisive, as countries differ on approaches. Be that as it may, the AU and the EU must deal with them together. They can do this by identifying key areas where collaboration is most feasible and can benefit both continents. Meeting each other halfway and bridging the gap in positions between the two continents requires developing policies and approaches that limit the risks while leveraging the benefits of migration. Legal labour migration pathways, better remittance systems and advancing international protection are three key entry points. Ultimately, the AU and the EU should focus more on mutually beneficial migration governance over divisive securitisation. The'irregular' distraction in the New Pact. Entry points for Europe and Africa 9