European Migration Agenda

Pre-pandemic, EU policies towards North Africa focused on two main paradigms: trade liberalization and the minimization of both regular and irregular migration. These agendas were incoherent and had overwhelmingly negative implications for the livelihoods and employment opportunities within the EU for the most vulnerable people in the Maghreb.

The Greek government, with the support of EU leaders, should act now before the onset of winter to end Greece’s “containment policy,” 13 human rights and humanitarian organizations said in a campaign that began today.

On the sidelines of the AU-EU summit in Abidjan, the United Nations, the African Union and the European Union have announced they will put in place a joint task force to save the lives of migrants and refugees in Libya. But at the same time, European support for the Libyan coastguard contributes to stopping and returning people who are trying to escape the hell they are facing in Libya, a policy Oxfam condemns. 

Today Oxfam releases a report that exposes how the European Union’s Migration Agenda needs an urgent shift in direction, based on 8 principles for a fair and humane approach to migration.