EU splurges on border controls, thousands of miles away in other countries, to curb migrants

The EU is revamping its migration system, hoping to appease an ascendant far right by tightening border controls in the bloc and paying poorer nations to intercept immigrants before they ever reach its shores.

Its “Fortress Europe” tactic is drawing fire from left and right – sparking fears of migrant abuse as well as criticism of the European Union for failing to stem the rising number of illegal sea crossings.

Migration has been a hot topic since more than a million people – mostly Syrian – crossed the Mediterranean in 2015.

The EU has since tightened its laws and borders, emboldened by the rise of anti-immigrant sentiment across the bloc.

EU lawmakers approved a major policy overhaul on April 10, hoping to streamline security and asylum procedures and to send more migrants back. This year alone, more than 46,000 people have already made the hazardous boat journey to Europe.

The EU is also looking to build on a string of deals it has struck in North Africa, effectively farming out some migration controls to countries thousands of miles away.

Partnerships with third countries are “essential” to cut migration, Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen said after the pact was agreed, even as some EU lawmakers and rights groups said the policy ran counter to EU values.

Here’s a snapshot of some of the “cash for migrant” schemes, the controversies they provoke and how they do or don't work.

‘Cash for migrant’ deals

After a million migrants crossed into the bloc in 2015, the EU gave Turkey 6 billion euros to care for Syrians who had fled war at home, hoping it would stop them moving any further west.

Under the 2016 deal, Turkey agreed to take back transitory migrants who then moved to Greece and to “take any necessary measures” to block new illegal routes into the EU.

A year later and the anti-migrant focus turned to Libya – a key jumping-off point for Italy – when the EU backed a package of financial and technical support for Tripoli.

Millions of EU euros went to train and equip Libya’s coastguard and continues to support its border control, even as a United Nations investigator accused the Libyan authorities of withholding water, food and sanitation from captured migrants, some of whom it said were also tortured.

Where is the EU spending money

The EU money has largely followed the migrants, drawn to new hotspots in North and West Africa that proved easier to breach.

Some schemes fund monitoring equipment or coastguard training, others offer broad support to partners who slow illegal transit or crack down on gangs of people smugglers. The EU has also helped pay for reception and detention facilities.

Last July, the EU Commission signed a “strategic partnership” with Tunisia - a growing jumping-off point to Europe - to crack down on human traffickers and tighten borders, hailing it as “a blueprint for the future”.

Tunisia has overtaken Libya as the most popular departure point for illegal migration into the bloc, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council, with 75,000 people intercepted by the Tunisian coastguard last year.

In February, the EU pledged millions of euros to help Mauritania combat migration as instability in the Sahel fuelled increased transit through the impoverished West African nation.

Last month, the EU promised Egypt training and study schemes if Cairo did more to tackle illegal migration, two years after it bought its border force new vessels and surveillance kit.

Morocco – another key port of illegal entry – also got millions to bolster its coastguard and return unwanted migrants, part of a broader pact it struck with the EU last year.

The EU has similarly strengthened its eastern flank, targetting the Western Balkans – one of the main migratory paths into Europe – with a package of investment in exchange for more robust border and migration management.

Last year, the EU also agreed a support package for Lebanon, earmarking money for border management as displaced Syrians and Lebanese alighted on a new escape route to Cyprus, sparking fears of a spillover into the bloc.

Why the controversy

Rights groups say the EU is putting millions of lives at risk by cutting deals with countries that do not share its democratic values or uphold human rights.

In April, Amnesty's Dutch arm launched a lawsuit against its government for endorsing the EU-Turkey deal, which they say led to overcrowding and inhuman conditions on Greek islands.

Equally, the policy has angered anti-immigration, eurosceptic and far-right parties for not going far enough.

Alongside, security risks, high costs, a lack of trust, and some partner states' inability to seal their borders have all helped highlight the policy's shortcomings.

“Mostly, these countries are not ready to handle it,” said an EU official involved in the 27-nation bloc's foreign policy.

As for their efficacy, the Turkey deal has cost the EU more than 9 billion euros since 2016 and has significantly cut arrivals in Greece and elsewhere in the bloc.

It has also swollen Turkey's refugee population, raising a red flag for other would-be beneficiaries of EU largesse.

This article first appeared on Context, powered by the Thomson Reuters Foundation.