EU rejects claims of aid misuse following Oxfam report
Brussels: The European Commission has rejected criticism that its aid policy may hinder migration and curb human rights, after being accused of breaking global aid rules by a major development NGO.
A report by the NGO Oxfam published on Thursday (21 September), based on an analysis of around €1 billion of EU aid funds found that six out of 16 identified migration activities in Niger, Libya, and Tunisia, worth €667 million, potentially breach aid rules.
The NGO stated that “more aid is directed towards activities that hinder migration and pose potential risks to people’s human rights rather than promoting safe and regular migration and economic growth through migration”.
Among its operations, the EU is involved in training and purchasing vessels for the Libyan coastguard, which is responsible for intercepting migrants at sea and returning them to Libya. It also provides financial aid to the Tunisian coastguard. Both have been accused of systemic abuse of human rights.
International rules on ‘official development assistance’ (ODA) are set by the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and have become increasingly complex in recent years.
Rules agreed last December by the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee allow in-country refugee costs to be classified as development aid as well as return and reintegration programmes.
More controversially, programmes aimed at countering irregular migration, including border management and the fight against migrant smuggling and human trafficking, can also be included.
A review of the ODA eligibility of projects reported by donors under the new migration code will be conducted through the Peer Reviews of European Development Cooperation.
However, the OECD states that “activities that neglect the rights of forcibly displaced persons and migrants do not qualify as aid”.
“The implementation of EU policy in Niger is brewing a humanitarian crisis at the border with Algeria. Instead of tackling poverty, aid is being rerouted to slam the brakes on migration to Europe,” said Konate Papa Sosthène, country director at Oxfam Niger.
Responding to the report on Thursday, European Commission spokesperson Ana Pisonero countered that “most of our actions are helping to address the root causes of migration”.
“Well managed migration is beneficial for partner countries and broadly speaking,” said Pisonero, who added that the EU respects the guidelines set by the OECD.
The EU’s own rules state that the bloc’s aid aims to achieve “the reduction and, in the long term, the eradication of poverty”.
The report also pointed to “significant incoherence between EU migration and development policy, such as in Libya, where non-ODA EU funds facilitate the interception of migrants who are returned to inhumane conditions, and EU development funds are in turn spent on improving these conditions or evacuating people from them”.
It said that “migration-related activities included in ODA should comply with development, humanitarian and human rights objectives and principles”.
The EU executive is keen to step up its cooperation with North African countries on migration control.
In July, the Commission concluded a €785 million agreement with Tunisia that will provide economic support for the North African state and investment in two major energy projects in exchange for stricter border control. The EU is also pursuing a similar arrangement with Egypt.
