Migration and Development? An Assessment of Recent EU Pollicy Initiatives

Abstract

The idea that migration policy and development policy are interrelated and influence each other has gained ground over the past few years. The EU has been keen to link migration policy to development policy in several of its policy initiatives. Based on a discussion of the notion of 'migration and development', this article identifies four policy dilemmas facing policy-makers who aim to link migration policy and development policy. It then goes on to examine four EU policy initiatives (the Global Approach to Migration; the Policy Plan on Legal Migration; the thematic programme for the cooperation with third countries in the areas of migration and asylum; and the Mobility Partnerships) to determine how these initiatives aim to link migration policy and development policy. It finds that none of the policy initiatives adequately address the policy dilemmas. Only the two most recent initiatives (the thematic programme and the Mobility Partnerships) address the broad range of suggested policies which link migration policy and development policy. Generally, it is clear from the initiatives that the EU prioritises the reduction of illegal immigration to its territory. Inconsistencies between the EU's various policies, as well as between its different institutional actors, are problematic for attempts to achieve a 'comprehensive' policy in the area of migration and development.