Understanding the future of European Union counter-smuggling policy : the renewed EU action plan against migrant smuggling (2021-2025)

Abstract

Political contention surrounding ‘irregular migration’ in recent years has instigated national and multilateral government authorities to develop new transnational approaches to counter-smuggling policy. Contemporary migration movements result from disparate catalysts, extending far beyond direct personal persecution, thereby rendering existing asylum policies ill-equipped to accommodate modern mixed migration movements. This article argues that European Union (EU) approaches to counter-smuggling policy prioritise preventing spontaneous arrivals and restricting individuals’access to humanitarian protection systems. By reviewing trends from the past five years of European counter-smuggling policy, this research develops a prognosis for the priorities and effects of future EU counter-smuggling policies based on the Renewed EU Action Plan Against Migrant Smuggling (2021-2025). The analysis herein identifies that future European Union counter-smuggling policy will prioritise digital smuggling, data collection and exchange, externalisation via third country partners, addressing the state-led instrumentalisation of migration, and increasing return operations. Situating these priorities in the broader context of recent EU migration policy indicates a continuing shift towards dynamics of containment and exclusion.