Source: European Parliament
In 2023, the EU provided EUR 318 million to address migration challenges in North Africa, building on actions funded under the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa[1] (EUTF) and the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument — Global Europe (NDICI-GE)[2].
By December 2024, the entire budget was fully contracted, supporting assistance and protection to forcibly displaced persons, strengthening asylum and migration governance and management, fostering return, readmission and sustainable reintegration, and promoting legal migration and mobility.
In 2024, EU efforts yielded positive results, including a significant decrease in arrivals to the EU (minus 60% on the Central Mediterranean route) and an increase in assisted voluntary returns to countries of origin (nearly 4 600 returns from January to November 2024, representing a 229% increase compared to the same period in 2023).
EU assistance also contributed to bolster protection capacities in North African countries, enhancing access to basic services (such as education and health) for people in need.
Additionally, the EU has developed programmes to improve labour migration governance and established mobility schemes from Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt to Europe under the Talent Partnerships framework[3].
The new phase of the regional programme ‘Towards a Holistic Approach to Labour Migration Governance and Labour Mobility in North Africa’[4] (funded under NDICI-GE ), aims to increase the number of new mobilities in 2025-2028.
- [1] https://trust-fund-for-africa.europa.eu/index_en
- [2] https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/funding-and-technical-assistance/neighbourhood-development-and-international-cooperation-instrument-global-europe-ndici-global-europe_en
- [3] https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/policies/migration-and-asylum/legal-migration-resettlement-and-integration/talent-partnerships_en#:~:text=The%20Talent%20Partnerships%20aim%20to%20provide%20a%20comprehensive,and%20skills%20between%20the%20EU%20and%20partner%20countries
- [4] https://trust-fund-for-africa.europa.eu/our-programmes/towards-holistic-approach-labour-migration-governance-and-labour-mobility-north-africa_en