The ‘EU Emergency Trust Fund for stability and addressing root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa’ (the EUTF for Africa) is the financial instrument at the forefront of the EU’s attempts to integrate migration politics, foreign policy and partnerships for development.
Our review of all the project proposals funded by the EUTF for Africa and the circumstances surrounding their adoption expose a new and worrying trajectory for development aid that is more closely linked with donors’ migration policies, particularly stopping irregular migration. This poses a risk to development actors’ ability to contribute to poverty and inequality reduction.