The European Think Tanks Group (ETTG) is pleased to present our latest policy brief: “The EU-Africa Migration Agenda: Realizing a New Partnership.” This comprehensive analysis builds on the insightful discussions from our Brussels event held in May 2024, where ETTG, in collaboration with ODI, ECDPM, and the Nordic Africa Institute,
Through an European Think Tanks Group initiative, ODI Europe, alongside ECDPM and The Nordic Africa Institute held a recent event in Brussels – ‘The EU-Africa migration agenda – realising a new partnership’. Ahead of the new European Commission and the 3rd AU-EU ministerial summit, the panel aimed to explore challenges
What is the impact of the war in Ukraine on Africa – Europe migration dialogue?
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, UNHCR has recorded more than 7.8 million Ukrainian refugees. This huge movement of people has been met with a very different response to the (poorly labelled) 2015/16 ‘migration crisis’. The activation of the EU’s Temporary Protection Directive has offered legal pathways to protection and enabled fast and effective assistance. Many factors underpin this treatment of Ukrainian refugees in Europe, including Ukraine’s geographic and cultural closeness and its status as an EU accession country.
British International Investment (BII) is the United Kingdom’s development finance institution (DFI). It is entirely owned by the UK government and its single shareholder is the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), represented by the Secretary of State for FCDO. The relationship between FCDO and BII has evolved over time and continues to evolve. Over the last few years, there has been a growing appreciation within the UK government of the value of BII as an important channel to achieve not only UK development objectives but also to contribute to geopolitical objectives such as promoting Global Britain. The result has been a rising profile of BII towards achieving broader UK government policy objectives.
In a context of existential transnational challenges and growing inter-state rivalries, we need well-financed, universal multilateralism that can set global rules and norms, drive forward action, and sidestep the tendency for money and military might to buy global influence. The WHO Executive Board now has an opportunity not only to reinvigorate its own organisation, but also to advance a discussion on how the entire UN system can be placed on a stronger, more financially sustainable footing. Passing up this moment out of fear of the implications for member state fiscal obligations to the wider UN system would be both unfortunate and short-sighted.
This ODI briefing explores how the diverging fortunes across countries have come to pass and the limitations of the multilateral initiatives intended to support a global response. It focuses especially on the multilateral financing measures that have been put in place to combat the crisis and looks at some of the changes that would be required to support a more effective response in future.
