On Tuesday 5 May, the European Parliament’s Committee on Development (DEVE) broadly adopted a report by Lukas Mandl (EPP, Austrian) aimed at strengthening development cooperation to combat irregular population movements.
In his introductory speech before the vote, Mr Mandl hailed a “broad and balanced” agreement, reached after six months of negotiations between political groups. He stressed that this report proposes a coherent approach combining “development cooperation and migration management, with full respect of human rights”.
The report proposes concrete measures to transform external aid into a lever for stability. It recommends systematically integrating migration considerations into development policies and to mobilise the Global Gateway to promote local employment. The aim is to tackle the “root causes“ of irregular migration - poverty, instability and lack of opportunity - through increased support for education and health.
Mr Mandl also called for the integration of “migration-related conditionality”, so that the allocation of funds takes account of partner countries’ cooperation on return and readmission - while strictly preserving humanitarian aid.
Finally, the text stresses the need to combat disinformation and human trafficking by strengthening the Rule of law in countries of origin.
The rapporteur stressed the importance of deploying this strategy to help local populations in partner countries “build a future for themselves in their own communities”. (Original version in French by Justine Manaud)