The EU is failing to dissuade African migrants despite spending billions, auditors say

BRUSSELS — The European Union is failing develop ways to dissuade migrants from Africa leaving for Europe without authorization and could do more to limit abuses against people trying to make the journey, the EU’s financial watchdog warned on Wednesday.

The findings come in a European Court of Auditors report into the bloc’s Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, a multi-billion-euro program hastily set up in 2015 after more than 1 million migrants arrived on Europe’s shores, many of them fleeing war in Syria, overwhelming services in Italy and Greece.

It was meant to help tackle the root causes of migration in Africa, like poverty, conflict or unemployment. At first, 1.8 billion euros ($2 billion) was available to distribute on hundreds of projects, but that amount has swelled to about 5 billion euros ($5.6 billion) today.

The fund is managed by the EU’s powerful executive branch, the European Commission.

“Despite the lessons learned … the commission is still unable to identify and report the most efficient and effective approaches to reducing irregular migration,” lead EU auditor on the investigation Bettina Jakobsen told reporters.

Jakobsen said that the commission should “target the aid more thoroughly into what is actually urgent and needed in specific areas and specific countries.”

She also said that “human rights risks have not been properly addressed by the commission, and that there are weaknesses in the accuracy and sustainability of the reported results.” In addition, Brussels “lacked adequate procedures for recording and follow up of allegations of violations of human rights.”

The auditors were aware of 10 officers who reported possible rights abuses in different parts of Africa, but the commission only had a record of one allegation. The auditors could not establish whether that case was followed up.

The use of the fund in Libya — one of the main jumping off points for people desperate to try to cross the Mediterranean Sea to Europe — was also a point of focus in the report.

A U.N.-appointed investigator has said that EU assistance to Libya’s migration department and coast guard “has aided and abetted the commission of the crimes,” including crimes against humanity. The commission rejects the allegation.

The auditors warned of flaws involving the use of funds and equipment meant to improve maritime surveillance and reduce deaths at sea in Libya. The International Organization for Migration estimates that around 30,000 people have died or gone missing trying to cross the Mediterranean since 2014.

The report said EU-funded “equipment could be used by actors other than the intended beneficiaries,” or that Libyan staff trained by Europeans “may not be committed to the do-no-harm principle.” Beneficiaries of the funds might also refuse to allow monitors to check how they use the money.

In December, the auditors visited the site of a maritime rescue coordination center on the Libyan coast. Italy was tasked in 2017 with helping the Libyans to set it up. Millions of euros were earmarked for the task and containers of equipment sent, but seven years on it is still not operational.

Under international rules governing the safety of life at sea — rules that are recognized and accepted by the EU — Libya must have such a center and permanently staff it. In the meantime, Italy has mostly coordinated the effort in Libya’s waters, deciding which ships should respond to emergencies.

The commission, for its part, mostly accepted the report’s recommendations on how to improve things.

It acknowledged “that there is a need to further reinforce its capacity to identify and mitigate risks, including by defining specific activities or output indicators in high risks sectors for human rights. This will be addressed by providing more detailed sectoral guidance material and training.”

The commission underlined that, as of last year, the fund had helped to send 73,215 migrants voluntarily back to their home countries. In the first half of 2023, it said, 11,087 jobs were created or supported, mostly in Guinea and Senegal, while 23,266 people received skills training.