In 2022, over a third of the world’s entire refugee population lived in sub-Saharan Africa. While internal displacements are common, the Sahel is one of the transit routes most frequently used by migrants travelling towards Europe. The central Mediterranean route through North Africa is the main path to Europe, followed by the western Mediterranean from the Sahel countries. In decreasing order, the top 10 countries of origin of irregular migrants arriving in the EU from Africa from 2016 to 2023 were: Morocco, Tunisia, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Algeria, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, unspecified sub-Saharan countries, and Mali.
The overall aim of the EUTF is to address various crises in three African regions: the Sahel and Lake Chad, the Horn of Africa, and North Africa. The EUTF aims to support all aspects of stability and contribute to better migration management. It also seeks to address the root causes of destabilisation, forced displacement and irregular migration by promoting resilience, economic and equal opportunities, security, and development, and by addressing human rights abuses. The greatest part of EUTF contributions (€4.4 billion, or 88 % of the total) has consisted of transfers from the European Development Fund (EDF) and the EU budget. A further 12 % has come from EU member states, the United Kingdom, Norway, and Switzerland. By December 2023, a total of €4 508 million had been paid out.
In the first audit of the EUTF in 2018, our auditors concluded that it was a flexible tool, but that its design should have been more focused. As migration has remained high on the EU’s political agenda, the ECA decided to follow up on the recommendations from 2018 to assess how far they had improved the management of the EUTF. In addition, we checked whether the European Commission had taken due account of human rights when providing support, and whether EUTF results were monitored effectively, reported accurately, and are sustainable. Through field visits, our auditors took a closer look at a few countries from the different regions covered: Ethiopia, Gambia, Mauritania, Libya, and Tunisia. The report will be published on the ECA website on 25 September at 17.00.
Source – ECA