Development Aid as Migration Control: The EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa and the Constraints on African Agency

Journal article

For decades, the EU has recorded a steady but contained flow of migrants to the continent, a number small enough not to attract the sustained public or political attention. However, in the mid-2010s things changed. Due to the conflicts in the EU’s neighbourhood, Syria, Libya, Iraq, South Sudan, and many others, the influx of migrants and asylum seekers increased drastically. Due to tightening land border controls, these migration flows crossed the Western Mediterranean Route, which links Morocco and Spain, and the Central Mediterranean Route, which connects Libya or Egypt to Italy and Malta. The latter saw a 376 percent increase in sea crossings between 2013 and 20141, most of which were done in extremely perilous conditions, causing just over 3,000 drownings (over the approximately 4,000 reported worldwide) between January and September 2014, earning the Mediterranean the title of deadliest sea in the world2. Within months, the EU was struggling under the extreme migratory pressure. Single member states could not handle the crisis alone, as each experienced different impacts. Italy and Greece received new arrivals, Croatia and Hungary acted as transit countries, and wealthier countries such as Germany and Sweden became the preferred final destination for many refugees.

Authors: Cecchi, G

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Host title: A Geoeconomic Global South
• Journal: St. Antony’s International Review
• Volume: 21
• Issue: 1
• Publication date: 2026-06-14
• DOI: 10.82556/stair.v21i1.607
• Language: English