Reinforcing development cooperation to address irregular population movements and their root causes in partner countries

10.6.2026 A10-0147/1

Amendment 1

Marc Jongen, Tomasz Froelich

on behalf of the ESN Group

Report A10-0147/2026

Lukas Mandl

Reinforcing development cooperation to address irregular population movements and their root causes in partner countries

(2025/2111(INI))

Motion for a resolution (Rule 188(3) of the Rules of Procedure) replacing non-legislative motion for a resolution A10-0147/2026

European Parliament resolution on reinforcing development cooperation to address irregular population movements and their root causes in partner countries

– having regard to Articles 79 and 208 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

– having regard to Articles 3(5) and 21 of the Treaty on European Union,

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/947 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 June 2021 establishing the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe, amending and repealing Decision No 466/2014/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Regulation (EU) 2017/1601 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (EC, Euratom) No 480/2009,

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2024/1351 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 on asylum and migration management, amending Regulations (EU) 2021/1147 and (EU) 2021/1060 and repealing Regulation (EU) No 604/2013,

– having regard to the Commission proposal of 11 March 2025 for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a common system for the return of third-country nationals staying illegally in the Union, and repealing Directive 2008/115/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, Council Directive 2001/40/EC and Council Decision 2004/191/EC (COM(2025)0101),

– having regard to the Partnership Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Members of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States, of the other part (the Samoa Agreement), and in particular Article 74 thereof,

– having regard to the European Council conclusions of 17 October 2024 on migration,

– having regard to the Chișinău Declaration of 15 May 2026 on the European Convention on Human Rights, adopted at the 135th Session of the Committee of Ministers, Chișinău,

– having regard to the provisional agreement of 1 June 2026 resulting from interinstitutional negotiations on the proposed regulation establishing a common system for the return of illegally staying third-country nationals (EU Return Regulation),

– having regard to European Court of Auditors Special Report 17/2021 entitled ‘EU readmission cooperation with third countries: relevant actions yielded limited results’,

– having regard to European Court of Auditors Special Report 17/2024 entitled ‘The EU trust fund for Africa – Despite new approaches, support remained unfocused’,

– having regard to the study conducted for its Committee on Development on the role of EU development cooperation in addressing irregular migration in Africa,

– having regard to the UN report entitled ‘2024 Revision of the World Population Prospects’,

– having regard to the Gallup World Poll results published on 31 October 2024,

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Development (A10-0147/2026),

– having regard to Rule 55 of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas development cooperation may contribute to addressing structural drivers of migration, it does not in itself automatically reduce illegal migration and may, depending on context and level of development, even coincide with increased emigration pressure;

B. whereas the European Court of Auditors found that the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa remained unfocused and fell short of achieving many of its objectives because effective strategies were not always clearly identified;

C. whereas in 2024, 453 000 non-EU citizens were issued return decisions and around 110 000 were effectively returned to a country outside the EU, meaning that only around one fourth of those ordered to leave were effectively returned;

D. whereas in 2025, illegal border crossings at the EU’s external borders fell by 26 % to almost 178 000, but migratory pressure remains high and requires sustained action on the external dimension of migration policy;

E. whereas demographic growth in parts of Africa and the Middle East, combined with high reported willingness to migrate in several regions, is likely to maintain strong migratory pressure towards Europe in the coming decades;

F. whereas large-scale uncontrolled migration and brain drain pose severe risks for the economy, labour market, stability and overall social cohesion of both countries of origin and destination countries;

G. whereas human trafficking and smuggling is a gross violation of fundamental rights; whereas more than 13 000 people have lost their lives or gone missing while attempting to cross the Mediterranean en route to Europe, having been enticed by the false promises of criminal smuggling networks;

H. whereas development funding must be guided by verifiable results, accountability and the EU’s strategic interests, including effective cooperation by partner countries on readmission, return, border management and the fight against smuggling and trafficking;

I. whereas the Member States of the EU and members of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States are under an obligation under international law to readmit their own nationals; whereas the Samoa Agreement reaffirms this obligation;

J. whereas the proposed EU return regulation, once adopted, will enable development assistance to be made conditional upon effective cooperation by third countries on readmission;

1. Stresses that development cooperation cannot substitute for effective control of the EU’s external borders, a credible return policy and sustained cooperation with countries of origin and transit on preventing illegal migration;

2. Notes that increasing human development alone does not automatically reduce emigration and may, at certain stages of development, increase outward migration; calls therefore for the EU’s development policy to be linked to concrete, measurable and regularly reviewed commitments by partner countries on readmission, return, border management, civil registry cooperation and the fight against trafficking in human beings and migrant smuggling;

3. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to make the fight against illegal migration a priority in development cooperation, including in the Global Europe instrument, by applying a strict conditionality principle in non-humanitarian development cooperation with third-country public authorities, under which sustained and verifiable cooperation on readmission and return constitutes a key criterion for programming, disbursement and review;

4. Calls for the suspension, reduction or redirection of non-humanitarian funding channelled through partner country public authorities where those authorities persistently fail to cooperate on the readmission of their own nationals, on the issuance of travel documents, or on action against smuggling and trafficking networks; stresses that humanitarian assistance in accordance with humanitarian principles must remain unaffected;

5. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to prioritise, in the allocation of development projects, those countries that consent to the establishment of return hubs on their territory for people of various nationalities subject to return decisions, and that provide full cooperation in the implementation and management of such facilities;

6. Calls on the Commission to make greater use of precise country-specific benchmarks, annual performance reviews and measurable indicators in all external migration-related spending, in order to avoid the unfocused use of funds criticised by the European Court of Auditors;

7. Calls on the Commission and the European External Action Service to prioritise cooperation with partner countries on identification procedures, civil status documentation, consular cooperation, border surveillance and anti-smuggling operations, and to ensure that EU funding in those fields is tied to demonstrable operational results;

8. Calls on the Commission to collect, through regular quantitative surveys, accurate, reliable and comprehensive data on which development policies actually contribute to reducing illegal migration and which measures do not have such an effect; calls on the Commission to give preference to development policies that are empirically proven to contribute to reducing illegal migration;

9. Rejects approaches that frame development cooperation as an instrument to facilitate larger-scale migration to the EU; insists that refugee protection should, wherever possible, be provided in regions close to the country of origin, in line with the original rationale of the international refugee protection system;

10. Calls for the implementation of information campaigns in countries of origin and transit aimed at refuting the misleading narratives spread by migrant smugglers, and at accurately presenting the dangers of attempting to reach Europe, the low likelihood of a successful asylum application, and the often difficult economic reality experienced by many illegal migrants in Europe, in order to deter prospective migrants from embarking on these perilous journeys;

11. Calls on the Commission, in the event of a humanitarian crisis resulting in a sudden surge in refugee movements, to support the provision of shelter and assistance in safe zones within the country concerned or in safe third countries, preferably in the immediate region, while ruling out the relocation or resettlement of refugees in Europe;

12. Stresses that religious persecution, in particular of Christians as the most heavily persecuted religious group worldwide, contributes to instability and forced displacement; calls on the Commission and the Member States to make respect for freedom of religion or belief and effective protection of persecuted communities, including Christians, a priority objective and, where appropriate, a condition in political dialogue and nonhumanitarian development cooperation with partnercountry authorities;

13. Calls on the Commission to submit to Parliament, by 31 March each year, a public country-by-country assessment of the link between EU external funding and cooperation by partner countries on readmission, returns, anti-smuggling action and border management, including a breakdown of any suspended, redirected or conditioned funding;

14. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission and the European External Action Service.

Or. en