Archive
How the EU coordinates migration control around Africa
Every year the European Commission produces a report summarising the state of external migration cooperation. Divided by regions and then countries, the report offers insight into the latest projects, spending and diplomacy the EU is using to pursue its goal of keeping people from reaching Europe. The January 2026 edition – covering activity in 2025 – reveals the EU continues to put significant effort into securing deportation agreements with African nations. It is also working to re-establish a diplomatic presence in the Sahel region, with an eye to restricting people moving through the region. Read More
Exporter la “gestion” carcérale des migrations : 30 millions d’euros de l’UE vers le Sénégal
30 millions d’euros provenant du budget d’aide au développement de l’UE ont été alloués au Sénégal pour le contrôle des migrations. L’examen de documents de la Commission européenne met clairement en évidence l’objectif principal de ce financement : la surveillance et le contrôle des frontières, l’interception maritime des personnes tentant de quitter le Sénégal pour rejoindre le territoire européen, ainsi que les infrastructures d’accueil/détention. Read More
Border externalisation: radical expansion of Frontex powers in the works
The latest issue of our bulletin on EU border externalisation policies includes: council discussion documents on upcoming Frontex mandate revision; the IOM presents a dire picture for returnees to Afghanistan; and an internal human rights presentation warns the EU is "not there yet" Read More
Exporting carceral migration “management”: €30 million from the EU to Senegal for migration control
€30 million from the EU's aid budget has been provided to Senegal for migration control. An examination of European Commission documents makes clear the main focus of the funding: border surveillance and control, maritime interception of people trying to leave Senegal to travel to European territory, and reception/detention infrastructure. Read More
New report examines Frontex’s growing role in West Africa
A new report provides a critical examination of the evolving role of Frontex, the EU Border and Coast Guard Agency, in West Africa. Read More
Exporting Borders: Frontex and the Expansion of Fortress Europe in West Africa
The EU is pushing its migration control far beyond Europe’s borders. This report, co-published with the Transnational Institute, exposes how Frontex operates in West Africa under the cover of cooperation, entrenching neo-colonial influence, undermining rights, and reshaping the Sahel into a securitised buffer zone. Read More
Violence at a distance: Frontex’s increasing role outside the EU
The EU tries to keep ‘unwanted’ people out by outsourcing border control to non-EU states. Frontex, the EU’s border agency, play a key role in a “web of violent deterrence” that is deeply-rooted in Europe’s colonial past. Every year, the agency publishes a report on its work in and with non-EU states. The latest edition demonstrates how its role has expanded, whilst glossing over or ignoring human rights violations. Read More
The case of Civipol: commodified mobility policing in West Africa and its colonial continuities
Current European attempts to outsource migration control to West Africa mirror historical entanglements between colonial logics, corporate interests and policing. This article looks at the place of public-private relations in French colonialism in order to historically situate the activities of Civipol, a French public-private actor owned both by the French state and major security companies, that has specialized in building African states’ internal security capacity. Read More
“PUSH BACK FRONTEX”: campaign in Senegal targets deployment of EU border agency
A campaign against the deployment of Frontex in Senegal is seeking to halt a proposed agreement between the EU and the West African state and to denounce “how the EU collaborates with our complicit regimes killing people in the Mediterranean and in transit countries.” Read More
Frontex celebrates “expanding footprint” beyond the EU in report on third country cooperation
EU border agency Frontex is obliged to report annually to the European Parliament, European Commission and Council of the EU on its cooperation with non-EU countries. The 2021 report, obtained by Statewatch and published here, focuses on an expanding influence in the Western Balkans, information sharing, the expansion of the European Border Surveillance System (EUROSUR) to non-EU states, and deportations. Read More