ON SIMILAR TOPICS POLICY BRIEF November 2023 BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN EU MIGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT POLICIES TOWARDS AN UPDATED POLICY COHERENCE FOR DEVELOPMENT APPROACH ABSTRACT Migration policymakers often desire to use development cooperation to manage migration, while development experts insist that development policy should be first and foremost about the Sustainable Development Goals. This policy brief examines how this approach is reflected in the current reform of the Common European Asylum System(CEAS) and other policy initiatives, to what extent the current use of development cooperation for migration management is in line with the SDGs, and whether and how the controversies between the two policy areas can be overcome. It concludes that the EU's current migration and asylum policies are at odds with the SDGs and the EU’s Aid Effectiveness Agenda, both in spirit and in practice, for example when it comes to the use of conditionality. The policy brief posits that a progressive migration policy could even argue for the instrumentalisation of migration policy for development goals: promoting fair and well-regulated migration arrangements to foster economic and social development. AUTHOR Steffen Angenendt Senior Fellow and head of the migration unit of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs(SWP), Berlin NADINE BIEHLER associate at the German Institute for International and Security Studies(SWP) and member of its migration unit IN PARTNERSHIP WITH POLICY BRIEF November 2023 A NO-WIN SITUATION DECONSTRUCTING THE EFFICACY OF EU EXTERNALISATION POLICIES FROM AN AFRICAN PERSPECTIVE ABSTRACT Migration policy discourses within the European Union have favoured a trend towards the so-called externalisation of migration policies, aimed, at least theoretically, to mitigate'irregular migration'. African countries have been a key target of this approach. EU narratives around externalisation are centred on the large and 'dangerous' flows of African migrants arriving by sea, and ignore the stories of the thousands of asylum seekers stuck in border countries in inhumane conditions or of the millions of Africans who prefer to migrate within their continent for trade and work purposes. This policy brief highlights the political, economic and social transformations caused by European externalisation policies within African states. The EU and its member states – using their political and economic leverage – are making deals with African states, urging them to replace their existing free movement protocols with the EU's requirement to stop migration flows. The emphasis on restricting migration to Europe combined with the shortage of legal migratory pathways is contributing to prolonged displacement in border towns and camps where asylum seekers and refugees suffer deprivation and fall prey to smugglers and traffickers. The funds from externalisation deals are being channeled towards the militarisation of borders and are bolstering the capacity of both state and non-state actors – especially in Libya and Tunisia – to perpetrate human rights abuses against African migrants. This policy brief surmises that externalisation perpetuates immobility amongst historically mobile African groups, results in the loss of livelihoods, introduces new forms of displacement, creates a surge in human smuggling and trafficking, and leads to unprecedented human rights abuses. AUTHOR FELICITY OKOTH Coordinator of the International Migration and Ethnic Relations (IMER) research network in Bergen, Norway IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TOWARDS A HUMANE REFUGEE POLICY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNION Gesine Schwan TOWARDS A HUMANE REFUGEE POLICY FOR THE EUROPEAN UNION Gesine Schwan with the collaboration of Malisa Zobel The'irregular' distraction in the New Pact. 14 Entry points for Europe and Africa