Brussels, Belgium, 8 February 2023 —  Ahead of this week’s special European Council meeting, the IRC warns that plans to ‘leverage’ tools such as EU development aid to control migration are “misguided, harmful and damaging to the EU’s relationships with third countries”.

This week (9-10 Feb), European leaders from 27 EU states will meet to discuss measures to further reinforce the EU’s external borders - including proposals to use development aid, trade policy and access to visas as bargaining chips to encourage partner countries to take back non-EU citizens who do not have the legal right to remain in the EU.

The leaders are also expected to discuss calls to fund new walls and fences, notably between Bulgaria and Turkey, and invest in additional infrastructure and surveillance equipment to deter refugees, asylum seekers and other migrants from seeking safety.

Niamh Nic Carthaigh, IRC Director of EU Policy and Advocacy:

“These proposals are a clear step in the wrong direction. Aid should never be used as a bargaining chip to meet short-sighted migration goals. As the world grapples with climate crises, conflicts and growing economic shocks, such measures would inflict real damage on the EU’s credibility to partner with states beyond its borders. They risk reversing years of hard-won progress towards long-term development goals, such as the reduction of poverty and inequality.  

"Instead, EU leaders must shift away from the current permanent state of political ‘crisis’ on migration and asylum. The reality is that low and middle-income countries host 74% of the world’s displaced people, with one in five of these people hosted by the least developed countries. As one of the world’s wealthiest regions, the EU’s aid,  partnership and support can make a huge difference in driving progress for these populations towards the Sustainable Development Goals. This includes using its Official Development Assistance (ODA) to assist displaced people and the communities hosting them, rather than directing these already scarce resources towards interventions that could do more harm than good.

"As European leaders meet this week, we urge them not to forget the people who will bear the brunt of their decisions, or their moral and legal responsibilities to assist those seeking protection. The compassion, solidarity and political support extended to people fleeing Ukraine is proof that Europe can do better, treating people forced from their homes with dignity and respect. We’re calling on the EU to take a ‘do no harm’ approach in all its migration policies and agreements. Its continued focus on walls rather than welcome is misguided, harmful and damaging to its relationships with third countries.”

The IRC is calling on the EU to overhaul its approach to migration and forced displacement by:

  1. Taking a ‘do no harm’ approach in its migration policies and agreements with non-EU countries, ensuring these do not increase vulnerabilities, contribute to human rights violations, or backslide on progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals for displaced populations;
  2. Shifting the focus away from deterring people from reaching Europe, to instead using ODA to meet people’s immediate protection and survival needs as well as their well-being, support and empowerment over the long-term;
  3. Expanding safe, regular routes to protection, including ambitious resettlement goals in line with increasing global needs. As a first step, it would be well within the EU’s capacity to resettle at least 40,000 refugees in 2023;
  4. Making sure that its migration partnerships with non-EU countries contribute to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals for people impacted by migration and displacement, as well as host communities.