Intro-Questions
January 21st, 2020 - written by: eberhard
1. Where do EU funds spent on "development" in Africa go?
After 2015, in addition to existing development aid funds from the European Development Fund (EDF), EU has set up a so-called emergency instrument of 4 billion euros, the European Trust Fund (EUTF). Within the framework of the EU budget negotiations ([simple_tooltip content='EU budget for the years 2021 - 2027, which is currently under negotiation. In the new MFF, the Development Fund will disappear and be incorporated into the "Foreign Policy Instrument" for "Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation" (NDICI), which will be endowed with up to €93 billion, one-tenth of which will be for migration management. Further billions of euros for the defence of migratory populations are found in funds called IBMF, AMF, ISF.
Detailed material on the EU budget from 2021 onwards']Multiannual Financial Framework MFF[/simple_tooltip]) for the years 2021 - 2027, new funds of more than 30 billion euros are currently being negotiated. It is planned to double spending on "[simple_tooltip content='Generic term for the coordination of measures to defend against refugees, whereby the EU and FRONTEX cooperate with UNHCR, UNODC, IOM in addition to governments. In East Africa the "Better Migration Management" programme of GIZ is a good example.
Better Migration Management']migration management[/simple_tooltip]" and quadruple spending on border upgrading. These funds will mainly be used to stop migration to Europe already on the African continent as effectively as possible by obliging governments to cooperate in migration control ̶ for example by expanding border management, but also by strengthening the justice and security apparatus against "smugglers" and "human traffickers".
The money flows primarily to states with migration hubs such as [simple_tooltip content='Mali is twice the size of France and half desert. Most of the almost 20 million inhabitants live in the southern part of the country: the Sahel zone and in the area of the large rivers Niger and Senegal.
Go to the Wiki entry Mali
']Mali[/simple_tooltip], [simple_tooltip content='Niger is twice the size of France and extends deep into the Sahara in the north. Most of the almost 22 million inhabitants* live in the southwest of the country in the Sahel region and in the Niger area. In 2016, the government has pushed migration movements through the Sahara into illegality. The most important export product is uranium.
Go to the Wiki entry Niger
']Niger[/simple_tooltip][simple_tooltip content='This is the content for the tooltip bubble']This triggers the tooltip[/simple_tooltip] and [simple_tooltip content='Sudan with about 40 million people is located south of Egypt on the Nile and extends to the west far into the Sahara and Sahel. It is five times as big as Germany. Sudan is a country of origin and transit for numerous migrants. The revolution of 2019 opens up new opportunities, but the old partners of the EU refugee defense have been able to stay in power.
Go to the wiki entry Sudan']Sudan[/simple_tooltip] or to states with which the EU has already concluded deportation or [simple_tooltip content='A repatriation, readmission or readmission agreement is an international treaty between two countries that regulates the repatriation, i.e. the deportation (return) or expulsion of illegal immigrants or rejected asylum seekers between two countries. It can also be - as with EU readmission agreements - an agreement between a group of states and another state.']readmission agreements[/simple_tooltip] or where it considers a new agreement to be promising, such as the populous states of [simple_tooltip content='With more than 200 million inhabitants, Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa. In the north, the Islamist militia Boko Haram causes displacement and migration flows. Most African migrants into EU came from Nigeria.
Go to the Wikki entry Nigeria']Nigeria[/simple_tooltip] and [simple_tooltip content='Largest country on the Horn of Africa in the east of the continent with more than 100 million inhabitants and a highland in the centre. Many ethnic groups and languages, conflicts between the Oromo, who make up about 1/3 of the population, and the Amhars, who make up a bit less than 1/3. In 2018 the long war with the neighbouring country Eritrea ended.
Go to Wiki entry Ethiopia']Ethiopia[/simple_tooltip]. From the outset, the aim was to implement such agreements as soon as possible, to satisfy European electorates with a high number of deportations and to strengthen transnational networks for migration control.
On this page we will show in detail which programmes in which countries EU is supporting, with the sole aim of preventing or reversing migration.
2. What about development, democracy and human rights?
The classic conditions of development cooperation ̶ "good governance", low corruption, poverty ̶ have partly been thrown overboard. In the first place, the willingness of the state to play [simple_tooltip content='Buch English Edition']doorman for the EU[/simple_tooltip] now comes first. To this end, EU also cooperates with dictators, authoritarian regimes and militia leaders. One example is the [simple_tooltip content='The "Devil Knights" were the main actors in the genocide in Darfur and were later upgraded to a border guard force. The head of this militia, "Hemetti", whose assets are estimated at $4 billion, rose to deputy chief of the military council after the revolution.
Continue to Country-Wiki Sudan']RSF militias in Sudan[/simple_tooltip], which are responsible for the [simple_tooltip content='North and South Dar fur are the western parts of Sudan. Conflicts between the desert, pastoral and peasant population and attempts to achieve autonomy against the central state have been defeated by militias, with large parts of the population being exterminated or displaced.
Go to the wiki entry Sudan']genocide in Darfur[/simple_tooltip] and which are now deployed as border guards. Another example is the EU's cooperation with the so-called [simple_tooltip content='Since February 2017, Italy and the EU have been engaged in setting up a so-called coast guard in the western part of Libya in order to stop boost refugees already in the coastal zone of Libya and to lock them up in concentration camp-like camps. The personnel is provided by militias, which differ from region to region, and some of them are also involved in the smuggling business.
Go to the Wiki entry Libya']Libyan coast guard[/simple_tooltip], militias that first send migrants and refugees out to sea in unseaworthy rubber dinghies, only to "rescue" them ̶ in uniform ̶ and then deport them to camps similar to concentration camps. Or with the Egyptian military dictator [simple_tooltip content='Military potentate in Egypt since 2013, "favourite dictator" of Trump, in Egypt there is mass poverty and more than 60,000 political prisoners.
Go to Wiki entry Egypt']El Sissi[/simple_tooltip], to whom the EU has promised billions of euros, although he has locked up thousands of political opponents and activists behind bars to silence them.
EU also aims to deport migrants to Africa without bureaucratic hurdles. EU development funds are therefore not primarily concerned with the need for help or opportunities for the local population, but with controlling migration at all costs.
On this page we show in detail that state regimes, dictators, generals and corrupt presidents enrich themselves on EU funds and thus maintain their power, while people on the ground are denied their human rights and opportunities for a better life.
3. What would really benefit the people in Africa?
Whether the Africans are really helped with the so-called "development aid" or rather the respective regimes, the big corporations which exploit the raw materials and a small upper class, needs to be questioned. The direct remittances of migrants promote the economic development of poor countries much more than development aid. The money arrives directly at families and family-supported small businesses and ensures the survival of many thousands.
The EU has often promised to create "legal channels" for migration to Europe, as well as the "[simple_tooltip content='Taking in refugees directly from refugee camps in the Global South. The main receiving countries are the USA and Canada, Australia and the Nordic countries. The EU is lagging behind due to protracted resistances.
Resettlement UNHCR with fact sheets']resettlement[/simple_tooltip]" of people in need from refugee camps. Instead, it closes the few remaining routes and possibilities to migrate.
If we put the ageing of the European population and the mobility of young people in Africa side by side, a clear picture emerges: more immigration from Africa would be a win-win situation for everyone! The main reason to prevent this seems to be the prejudice that Europe must remain white, or rather the preventive fear of the further strengthening of right-wing forces in Europe. In fact, many studies have shown that the European population actually has nothing against newcomers from Asia and Africa.
And even if there were such majorities, as perhaps in Saxony, Poland or Hungary, politicians would have the duty to educate rather than serve and reinforce prejudices, for example by renaming the EU Commission's Department for Migration as "Protecting our European Way of Life".
We show on this page: freedom of movement for all people - also in Africa and from Africa to Europe - cannot be prevented in the global age and it is for the benefit of all if it takes place in solidarity and democracy.
4. Who benefits from armament and border control?
In order to close the passages to Europe, inner-African borders are increasingly being upgraded and African border guards trained. European manufacturers of security technology, often produced by arms companies, are receiving orders worth billions.
The armament in the [simple_tooltip content='The Sahara desert and the dry zone bordering it to the south is increasingly becoming an area of EU military intervention. A second Afghanistan threatens.']Sahara and Sahel region[/simple_tooltip] is being pushed forward by various actors. The focus is usually on the so-called "war on terror" ̶ for geopolitical reasons. However, this armament and training is at the same time being used to work against migration. [simple_tooltip content='There were European military missions in the former Yugoslavia and Congo between 2003 and 2006. Since 2008, the missions have been conducted under an "EU Command and Control Structure" as the "Common Security and Defence Policy" (CSDP), primarily in Africa north of the equator. France provides the most soldiers (4,500) in Operation Berkhane.
Since 2013 the EUTM has been conducting military training in Bamako (Mali). There are close links with EUCAP Sahel Mali, a training mission for police units.
Operation Berkhane']European military missions[/simple_tooltip], for example, have had their mandates in the area of migration extended since 2015. In the meantime, there are increasing warnings that Europe is becoming a warring party in the Sahel and Sahara itself, as in Afghanistan.
The expansion of biometric identification papers and databases, surveillance systems and the supply of weapons and military vehicles to African security agencies are turning Africa into a sales market for European technology. Governments are supplied with cost-intensive high technology that they can use to monitor the population and maintain their power. The training of African border guards is carried out with the help of European forces.
This page shows: Certainly, it is not the population that benefits, but rather authoritarian regimes and arms companies.
5. Who are the losers?
Today's demarcation of African states is the legacy of colonialism. The lines drawn on the map due to European economic and power interests intersect the migration areas of nomadic and pastoralist populations and ethnic kinships. The armament of the borders threatens local economies and trade routes. Seasonal migration becomes "international" migration. In many cases, European border management projects lead to the cutting of traditional migration routes, because intra-African migration is also generally assumed to be only a first step on the road to Europe.
The regional [simple_tooltip content='Besides the African Union (AU), especially the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and East and South African States (COMESA)']communities of states in East and West Africa[/simple_tooltip], which were founded on the model of the EU, have included the free movement of labour and goods in their programme and want to introduce common passports. Integration instead of regulation holds development potential for the entire continent. On the one hand, the EU finances the African Union; on the other hand, it destroys integration processes by arming its borders. It promotes joint military and police units (especially the "[simple_tooltip content='Coordination of the armed forces of Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Chad. The alliance was founded in December 2014 to increase security against "Islamist" militias. There is close cooperation with the French Operation Berkhane and MINUSMA. The army of the Chadian ruler Déby provides the largest contingent of troops. Since 2019, G5 Sahel has been on the defensive due to popular resistance.
MINUSMA']G5 Sahel[/simple_tooltip]") and trains them, but for civilians, official border crossing is becoming increasingly difficult, expensive and dangerous. The EU's approach is: Schengen for the EU, border controls for Africa. Many areas, especially in the Sahara, have become areas under military siege in the years since 2015.
This page shows: The freedom of travel of the Europeans is bought with border controls in Africa and an omnipresence of surveillance techniques.