Towards Mediterranean migration management 2008? developing discourse and practices

Clandestine migrants to the EU face obvious risks and their safety has raised widespread concern. Nevertheless, they account for only a small fraction of total undocumented migration to Europe and receive a level of policy and media attention far out of proportion to their numerical significance. The European response is focused mainly on control –which further endangers migrants–, tackles the manifestation rather than the cause of the problem and is particularly expensive. Although the EU and Member State governments frequently voice the need to invest in longer-term solutions to improve conditions in the countries of origin, the priority and associated budgets devoted to these initiatives has until recently been relatively small. They have also suffered from overly vague notions of development which lack concrete proposals. The difficulty of making progress in this area is reflected in the intensity of intergovernmental discussions, with three distinct political processes in the EuroMed area. Recently, there are signs that the impasse in these discussions may be changing. Ongoing EU negotiations with the African Union have identified a number of clear, achievable steps, such as focusing on employment creation, which might bring more positive ideals of Mediterranean migration management a little closer.

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