EU-AU migration governance

Reframing EU-AU migration governance
Bridging divergence through pragmatic collaboration

Migration remains a central yet contested issue in AU-EU relations. While the AU views migration as a driver of development, integration and mobility rights, the EU continues to prioritise security, border control and returns — often ignoring that most African migration happens within the continent and through regular channels. Fragmented African positions and EU policies driven by political symbolism further weaken cooperation and squander opportunities. 

Our policy brief calls for pragmatic collaboration that bridges divergences and strengthens African agency. By fostering rights-based, development-oriented governance, AU-EU cooperation can turn migration from a point of friction into a shared opportunity for progress. 

Rethinking return cooperation and conditionality in the context of EU-AU migration relations 

Return policies have become the cornerstone of AU-EU migration relations — yet they deliver little. Despite heavy investments, enforcement rates remain low, while conditionality on aid or visas to achieve return agreements undermines trust, strains diplomacy, and weakens human rights protections. Removals to fragile states often lack human rights safeguards and are not sustainable, increasing people’s vulnerability and leading to re-migration. 

Our policy brief calls for a recalibration of AU-EU migration governance: shifting away from coercion toward cooperation. This means embedding rights and accountability at the core, investing in regularisation and labour mobility pathways, and ensuring reintegration support that works. Only then can migration governance foster trust and deliver sustainable outcomes. 

 Revitalising multilateralism to rebalance EU-Africa migration cooperation 

Multilateralism is in crisis. Rising nationalism, geopolitical rivalries, and shrinking commitments to cooperation have turned AU-EU migration governance from a shared development priority into a politicised, securitised battleground. The fallout is clear: weakened global conventions, aid and budget cuts, eroded trust in frameworks like the Global Compact for Migration and the SDGs — while African stakeholders and civil society remain sidelined. 

Our policy brief calls for a reset: revitalising multilateralism through renewed commitments, inclusive governance, and sustainable financing. Only by rebalancing AU-EU cooperation toward people-centred, rights-based, and development-oriented policies can migration become a true driver of shared progress.