How did the EU spend on migration in 2018?

Four years after record arrivals of refugees and migrants in 2015, the European Union and its member states have overhauled their internal and external policies to place more emphasis on migration. Improving cooperation with countries of origin, transit and destination is now a cornerstone of the EU’s domestic and global agenda. The link between development cooperation and migration was one of the key issues raised during the parliamentary hearing for the EU’s next development chief last week. To shed some light on the funding flows and trends underpinning the EU’s ever-growing focus on migration-related issues, Devex took a closer look at the data. We analyzed close to 2,000 contracts awarded in 2018 by three departments: the Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development, also known as DEVCO or EuropeAid; the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations, or DG NEAR; and the Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, or DG HOME. Although many aspects of development — such as economic opportunity and access to basic services — are intrinsically linked to migration flows, this analysis is limited to expenditure with an explicit focus on migration management and governance. This means that the contracts considered here relate to the formulation or implementation of laws, policies, and approaches aimed at responding to key migration issues. Data from the European Commission’s Financial Transparency System indicates that it dedicated approximately €1.3 billion ($1.45 billion) to migration in 2018. However, the database comes with a number of caveats. First, the data published is not comprehensive: While official figures peg EU official development assistance at $16.4 billion in 2018, only about $4.3 billion worth of expenditure from the two key departments in charge of foreign aid shows up in the EU FTS. Furthermore, the data portal does not appear to account for contracts awarded through the Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, one of the EU’s biggest tools for addressing the so-called “root causes of irregular migration.” While it is a useful tool to gain a general understanding of the key beneficiaries of EU migration funding, EU FTS does not paint a full picture of the depth and breadth of the bloc’s work on the issue. Main recipients At €729.3 million, 57% of the EU’s 2018 expenditure on migration went to its own member states — especially to key countries of arrival including Greece (€197.5 million), Italy (€138.9 million), and Spain (€69.4 million). DG HOME unsurprisingly shouldered the bulk of this sum, although DG DEVCO disbursed €15.5 million to the “SDGs and Migration - Multipliers and Journalists addressing decision makers and citizens in the EU” project, which aims to support journalists and influencers in seven member states to raise awareness of the SDGs in relation to the migration crisis. After member states, neighboring countries of the Mediterranean basin and Western Balkans received the most EU migration funding in 2018, according to the FTS data. This may illustrate the EU’s ongoing policy to “externalize” migration control and borders through financial support and agreements with third countries, particularly those considered as gateways to Europe. Specifically, Turkey was the largest recipient country, with contracts accounting for €410.8 million, or 32% of the total. The largest award was a €400 million grant from DG NEAR to PIKTES II, a project aiming to help the Turkish government integrate Syrian children into the national education system. Other key awards were primarily related to the EU Facility for Refugees, a €6 billion joint coordination mechanism designed to ensure that the needs of refugees and host communities in Turkey are addressed in a comprehensive and coordinated manner. They include a technical assistance contract worth €7.2 million led by Ecorys Nederland to support the monitoring of actions financed under the facility. With the recent shifting of migratory flows from the Eastern and Central Mediterranean to the Western parts of the sea, Morocco has become another key partner in EU migration management. In 2018, Morocco received €50 million from DG NEAR’s European Neighborhood Instrument to combat illegal trafficking of migrants — making it the fifth largest recipient of EU migration-focused assistance that year. The EU has said that overall migration-related assistance to the kingdom reached a record €148 million in 2018. Unsurprisingly, the Northern African region at large was also a key recipient of funding. Through DG HOME, the EU awarded a total of €37.5 million to the International Organization for Migration, the United Nations Children's Fund, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Save the Children Italy, and the Italian government to lead programs under the Regional Development and Protection Programme for North Africa. This multistakeholder initiative aims to improve the protection of refugees and migrants and provide alternatives to irregular migration by facilitating dignified living conditions and opportunities. Key instruments In 2018, of the awards included in the FTS data, DG HOME was responsible for 60% of EU funding to migration, funneling €682.2 million through the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund and €86.4 million through the Internal Security Fund. Funding under AMIF supports member states in managing migration flows, including in the fields of asylum, integration, legal migration and return, while ISF helps member states better protect citizens and manage external borders. At €485.6 million, DG NEAR accounted for 38% of EU migration funds in 2018. Support was primarily channeled through the Instrument for pre-accession assistance. This illustrates the extent to which migration-related issues have been mainstreamed into EU support for reforms in candidate countries, and the instrumentalization of the European Neighbourhood Policy to strengthen migration management. With contributions amounting to less than €25 million in 2018, DG DEVCO was the least prominent funder of migration issues among EU institutions, according to FTS. This includes €18.5 million under the Development Cooperation Instrument and €3.8 million through the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights. In reality, DG DEVCO’s annual funding for migration is likely to be significantly higher — perhaps even ahead of DG HOME’s. It has contributed €3.5 billion to the EUTF since 2015, which is not included in the data. Focus areas Devex analysis of the types of migration activities funded by the EU in 2018 indicates a primary focus on the integration and protection of migrant populations. Integration accounted for more than 45% of funding, mainly focused on finding durable solutions for migrants, asylum-seekers, refugees, returnees, internally displaced persons, and human trafficking victims; fostering and strengthening their integration into the labor market and wider society; and improving their overall living conditions. Urgent protection and care services for migrant populations made up 32% of support. Emphasis was put on providing legal and emergency assistance to asylum-seekers and migrants arriving at Europe’s Mediterranean borders. For instance, the €113.8 Providing Education and Immediate Accommodation to Migrant Children in Greece project was the initiative with the second-highest financial allocation in 2018. The project is implemented by U.N. agencies, Médecins du Monde, and Greek NGOs Iliaktida and Arsis. Other major contracts that were focused on migration protection and assistance include €49.8 million for the Spanish government and Spanish Red Cross to provide emergency aid to migrants and refugees; €45 million to help Italian regional governments implement the ICARE — Integration and Community Care for Asylum and Refugees in Emergency project; and €43.7 million for the FILOXENIA — Temporary Shelter and Protection for the Most Vulnerable Migrants in Greece project. Last but not least, investments in effective border management and awareness and information campaigns about migration respectively accounted for 11% and 7% of total EU migration funding in 2018. 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