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Other developments

Frontex director stokes fears of Sahel states “instrumentalising” migration /// Schengen Area 40th anniversary statement includes commitment to externalisation /// UK plans to introduce visa sanctions, mimicking EU approach /// EU agrees revised visa suspension mechanism /// Rabat Process holds meeting on missing migrants

Frontex director stokes fears of Sahel states “instrumentalising” migration

Frontex’s director, Hans Leitjens, has asserted that political shifts in the Sahel region “raises fears that migration flows across the Mediterranean could be instrumentalised to put further pressure on the EU.”

The statement comes in his foreword to the agency’s annual risk analysis report. No evidence is presented to back up the claim other than “Russia’s growing influence in the region and its military foothold in Eastern Libya.”

Whether or not Leitjen’s claim has any basis in reality, the EU is not held in particularly high standing in the region. As a recent op-ed in EUobserver put it:

“The reputational damage done to the EU in the Global South through its links to torture, slavery, violence, and death in Libya is not easily recoverable. And sadly, the Libyan story is not a one-off experience but reflected in a wider foreign policy approach.”

Schengen Area 40th anniversary statement includes commitment to externalisation

12 June marked the 40^th anniversary of the Schengen area. In a statement to commemorate the signing of the first Schengen agreement in 1985, EU and Schengen states issued a statement that included a commitment to border externalisation:

"We will reinforce the external dimension of Schengen through a comprehensive approach, including an effective visa policy, border management and effective cooperation with third countries on return and readmission, with the aim of fostering mutually beneficial partnerships."

UK plans to introduce visa sanctions, mimicking EU approach

UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, has said that the government is examining whether to “tie our visas to the work that the countries we’re dealing with are doing on preventive measures and on return agreements.” This would appear to be adopting the EU’s approach, by which it restricts Schengen visas for citizens of countries deemed insufficiently cooperative with deportations.

Starmer’s announcement came after the foreign secretary, David Lammy, said in a recent speech that states who do not "step up on irregular migration" in their cooperation with the UK will face "consequences." He did not offer any detail on what those consequences might be. There has been no concrete plan announced with regard to the more “transactional” use of visas referred to by Starmer.

EU agrees revised visa suspension mechanism

On 17 June a “provisional political agreement” was reached by the European Parliament and Council of the EU on a revised visa suspension mechanism. The law deals with the suspension of visa-free travel from countries that do not meet certain conditions.

Previously, those conditions included “sudden and substantial increase in irregular migration, lack of readmission cooperation, or security risks.” Under the new law they will also include “insufficient alignment with the EU's visa policy, hybrid threats, the operation of investor citizenship schemes, and the deterioration of the external relations between the EU and visa-free non-EU countries.”

Rabat Process holds meeting on missing migrants

On 9 and 10 July, the Rabat Process will host a meeting on “Advancing cooperation on Missing Migrants in the Rabat Process Region.” The meeting will “focus on identifying and promoting concrete policy and operational measures to prevent the tragedy of missing migrants, enhance the search for and identification of missing persons, and provide meaningful support to the families and communities affected.”