Towards migration policy coherence

The report argues that the EU's pursuit of 'policy coherence' in its external migration dimension is primarily a tool for containment, often instrumentalising development aid to limit migration. It highlights the inherent tensions between migration management, development, and integration, noting that the EU's reliance on conditionality and compensation in partnerships with third countries often ignores the domestic interests of those partners and lacks evidence-based effectiveness in addressing the 'root causes' of migration.

• The EU's external migration strategy is fundamentally designed to limit migration from non-EU countries through a combination of control measures and preventive efforts, often prioritising border security over the needs of migrants or origin countries.
• EU migration policies exhibit horizontal incoherence because development aid is frequently used as an instrument for migration containment rather than for its own intrinsic development goals.
• EU partnerships with third countries are characterized by unequal power dynamics and a 'conditionality and compensation' model that often benefits the EU more than its partners.
• The EU's reliance on informal 'soft-law' arrangements instead of formal agreements creates risks regarding accountability, legal jurisdiction, and the protection of fundamental human rights.
• The EU's preventive approach relies on the unproven assumptions that migration has identifiable 'root causes' and that these causes can be managed through policy interventions.
• Countries of origin often lack the necessary policy tools and institutional capacity to effectively reduce emigration, particularly regarding large-scale job creation and sustainable anti-corruption reforms.
• The EU lacks a comprehensive reintegration policy, which leads to increased vulnerability, social exclusion, and further migration aspirations for returnees, particularly in countries like Nigeria.
• Policy coherence in migration is inherently limited and often impossible to achieve fully due to divergent interests, values, and the complex, multidirectional interrelationships between migration management, development, and integration.

APA

Godin, M., Carrasco, J. I., Jumbert, M. G., Akal, A. B., & Vargas-Silva, C. (2024). Towards migration policy coherence. Peace Research Institute Oslo. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/86bfa6c6-e0f7-4932-b085-ddc30b7cb49e/mr-d096-towards-migration-policy-coherence-digital.pdf?inline=true

Chicago

Godin, Marie, José Ignacio Carrasco, Maria Gabrielsen Jumbert, Ayşe Bala Akal, and Carlos Vargas-Silva. Towards migration policy coherence. Peace Research Institute Oslo, 2024. https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/86bfa6c6-e0f7-4932-b085-ddc30b7cb49e/mr-d096-towards-migration-policy-coherence-digital.pdf?inline=true.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Godin |first1=Marie |last2=Carrasco |first2=José Ignacio |last3=Jumbert |first3=Maria Gabrielsen |last4=Akal |first4=Ayşe Bala |last5=Vargas-Silva |first5=Carlos |title=Towards migration policy coherence |publisher=Peace Research Institute Oslo |date=June 2024 |url=https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/86bfa6c6-e0f7-4932-b085-ddc30b7cb49e/mr-d096-towards-migration-policy-coherence-digital.pdf?inline=true |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{godin2024towards, author = {Godin, Marie and Carrasco, José Ignacio and Jumbert, Maria Gabrielsen and Akal, Ayşe Bala and Vargas-Silva, Carlos}, title = {{Towards migration policy coherence}}, institution = {Peace Research Institute Oslo}, year = {2024}, month = jun, url = {https://cdn.cloud.prio.org/files/86bfa6c6-e0f7-4932-b085-ddc30b7cb49e/mr-d096-towards-migration-policy-coherence-digital.pdf?inline=true}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }