Equal and effective partners? : the future of EU-Africa and EU-Turkey cooperation on migration and refugee protection

Abstract

Following the large and unexpected increase in the numbers of refugees and migrants arriving in Europe in 2015-16, the European Union struck a migration deal with Turkey (2016). At the same time, the EU intensified its efforts to reach similar cooperation agreements with African states that are either source and/or transit countries for irregular migrants in the EU. The European Commissions recently published 'New Pact on Migration and Asylum' (2020) proposes a range of measures aimed at expanding and increasing the effectiveness of cooperation with non-EU countries in the governance of migration and refugee protection. What has been the experience of past efforts of cooperation between the EU and countries in the EU neighbourhood? What concerns does such cooperation raise and how might they be addressed? What are the policy preferences and constraints in the EU, Turkey, and African countries of migrants origin and transit?