Towards a new deal on migration and mobility between Europe and Africa

Organised by

• Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies
• EGPP: European Governance and Politics Programme

Cooperation between Europe and Africa on migration has been slow, frustrating and marked by a power imbalance in favour of Europe. For African countries and for migrants, the risks of cooperation often outweigh the benefits. If progress is to be made, the European Union needs to create more legal migration pathways to Europe and end the largely ineffective push for return and readmission. To facilitate transformative dialogue and generate the political will to address the challenges, representatives from the political, the diplomatic, and the civil society communities must come together in joint forums where all parties have an equal voice. More specifically, the African Union Commission and the European Commission should initiate a joint forum where panels are always composed of representatives of the three communities. In the absence of this sort of forum, there is no hope of ever tackling effectively the problem of illegal migration and working out a sustainable mutually beneficial migration regime. 

The Conversations for the Future of Europe is a series of events tackling major EU challenges taking place from April to May 2023. Find a full programme of events on the series' website.