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

MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

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

(2025/2111(INI))

The European Parliament,

– having regard to Article 208(1) 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 Europe1,

– having regard to the Commission proposal of 16 June 2025 for a regulation of the European Parliament and the Council establishing Global Europe (COM(2025)0551),

– 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 604/20132,

– having regard to the Commission proposal of 11 March 2025 for a regulation of the European Parliament and 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 the Council, Council Directive 2001/40/EC and Council Decision 2004/191/EC (COM(2025)0101),

– having regard to the joint statement by the Council and the representatives of the governments of the Member States meeting within the Council, the European Parliament and the Commission of 30 June 2017 on the New European Consensus on Development – ‘Our world, our dignity, our future’,

– having regard to the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa,

– having regard to the joint communication by the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of 1 December 2021 entitled ‘The Global Gateway’ (JOIN(2021)0030),

– having regard to the joint communication by the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of 2 October 2025 entitled 'Building sustainable international partnerships as a Team Europe' (JOIN(2024)0025),

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

– having regard to the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, adopted on 10 December 2018,

– having regard to the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted at the UN Sustainable Development Summit on 25 September 2015 in New York and establishing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and in particular to the SDG 10.7 target calling for countries to facilitate the orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people through planned and well-managed migration policies,

– having regard to its resolution of 25 March 2021 on a new EU-Africa Strategy – a partnership for sustainable and inclusive development3,

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

– having regard to the report of the Committee on Development (A10-0000/2025),

A. whereas migration is driven by complex and interrelated factors such as disinformation, human trafficking, armed conflict, political instability, economic hardship and poverty, food insecurity and environmental degradation4; whereas development cooperation aims to tackle these factors driving irregular migration;

B. whereas since 2015, the EU has been facing unprecedented migration flows, with over 8.5 million requests for asylum submitted in EU Member States5;

C. whereas 4.3 million people migrated to the EU from non-EU countries in 2023, not including asylum seekers and refugees from Ukraine under temporary protection6;

D. whereas many countries of origin of asylum applicants are low-income countries or developing economies, such as Afghanistan, Syria, Bangladesh, Mali and Tunisia; whereas the acceptance rate for asylum seekers from some of these countries is quite low7;

E. whereas development cooperation plays a fundamental role in addressing the root causes of irregular migration by supporting the rule of law and strengthening law enforcement as well as by creating sustainable economic opportunities, enhancing governance and fostering peace and stability;

F. whereas the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum emphasises the importance of comprehensive migration partnerships based on political dialogue, mutual commitment and a whole-of-route approach;

G. whereas the Global Gateway strategy offers an opportunity to align development cooperation with migration objectives by promoting job creation, vocational training and sustainable investment in countries of origin and transit;

H. whereas human smuggling networks exploit migrants by offering false promises and profiting off dangerous journeys;

I. whereas the fight against disinformation on migration is essential in combating irregular migration;

J. whereas a fair and firm, but humane, common European asylum system and robust external border management remain indispensable in the external dimension of migration, including in development cooperation;

K. whereas readmission agreements and effective cooperation with partner countries on return and reintegration are critical to the overall success of migration management;

Interlinkages between migration and development cooperation

1. Underlines the interlinkage between migration and development cooperation and calls on the Commission and the Member States to systematically integrate migratory considerations into development policies and programmes;

2. Stresses that development cooperation should prioritise conflict prevention and peacebuilding via economic empowerment, governance reforms and the promotion of human rights in partner countries so as to address the root causes of irregular migration, among other objectives; underlines the crucial role played by women and girls in peacebuilding, as they often act as frontline responders and are frequently more affected by crises than others;

3. Highlights the importance of a Team Europe approach, ensuring coherence between the EU institutions and the Member States in coordinating political, diplomatic, financial and technical efforts to support partner countries in migration management, as well as through development structures;

4. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to enhance political dialogue with third countries, adopting tailor-made migration approaches on a country-by-country basis that address the specific contexts and needs of countries of origin and transit;

5. Welcomes the Global Gateway as a key instrument for supporting sustainable economic development and job creation in partner countries, thereby reducing the incentives for irregular migration;

6. Emphasises the need to combat human smuggling and trafficking through strengthened development cooperation with partner countries, enhanced law enforcement and public awareness campaigns to counteract disinformation;

7. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to integrate migration-related conditionality into development funding, ensuring that funding allocations take into account partner countries’ cooperation on return and readmission, while guaranteeing that humanitarian assistance is never subject to such conditionality and upholding the principle of proportionality; underlines that humanitarian aid should target needs at the local level; calls on the Commission to ensure that countries are not caught up in endless cycles of humanitarian aid, but can instead transition towards self-sustaining, sustainable developed economies;

8. Notes that public development funding and private investments are complementary and that investments from European companies play a crucial role in achieving the objectives of EU development policy; notes that investment guarantees from the EU encourage companies to undertake the respective investments;

9. Recognises the operational importance of external action under the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum and calls for greater financial and political commitment to implement migration partnerships along migration routes;

10. Invites the Commission to increase support for technical and vocational education and training in partner countries as part of its development strategies in order to address the root causes of migration;

11. Notes that migration and brain drain can hinder a country’s development by depleting its skilled workforce; recalls that development cooperation can mitigate this through strategies such as supporting the return and reintegration of skilled migrants;

12. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to invest in awareness-raising campaigns both within the EU and in third countries to fight disinformation and disseminate information about the risks of irregular migration and to promote understanding about EU rules on labour migration obligations;

13. Reaffirms that a holistic approach that combines development cooperation, external border protection, asylum reform and burden-sharing is essential to effectively manage migration and ensure security and solidarity both within the EU and in countries of origin;

14. Welcomes the crucial work of humanitarian, development and peace actors, most notably UN organisations and local actors, including faith-based communities and organisations;

°

° °

15. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission and the External Action Service.

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Coherence is paramount

Threats to the pillars of our European way of life, such as liberal democracy, individual freedom, and security concerns, coupled with demographic decline in Europe’s societies and its negative impacts on the economy and the welfare systems, make irregular and labour migration issues of central importance for Europe’s citizens and responsible governance.

Fighting poverty is the main motive for development aid. It is directly rooted in the very European values which are at stake. At the same time other policy areas such as those addressed above – fighting irregular migration, thriving for integration, tackling threats against our societies and the peoples’ security, and overcoming the demographic winter – have to be seen also in their interdependencies, especially with development policies.

Therefore, this file aims to connect policy areas for the sake of better EU policymaking in the interest of coherent decisions and better future prospects for citizens not just in Europe, but all around the world.