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Cooperation with non-EU countries: the Global Approach to migration |
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Migration cannot be managed by the EU alone. Finding ways to address the challenges and make the most of the benefits brought by migration requires dialogue and partnerships with non-EU countries. The Global Approach to migration is, since 2005, the EU’s framework for dialogue and cooperation with non-EU countries of origin, transit and destination. It enables migration and asylum issues to be addressed in a comprehensive way. Main priorities Dialogue and cooperation with non-EU countries in the context of the Global Approach is based on the identification of common interests and challenges. It has evolved into focusing on three main goals:
In addition, strengthening international protection systems and the external dimension of asylum, as well as respect for the rights and dignity of migrants, have been regarded as essential cross-cutting dimensions of this policy framework. Concrete initiatives In the context of the Global Approach, EU initiatives on legal migration and mobility have included the provision of information to potential migrants on legal migration opportunities and on rights and obligations in EU countries, the upgrading of skills prior to departure together with labour matching, the recognition of foreign qualifications and the preparation for return and for labour market reintegration. Measures on irregular migration have focused on readmission and return, fighting smuggling and the trafficking of human beings, capacity building for border management and posting Immigration Liaison Officers in EU State embassies. Regarding the links between migration and development, EU initiatives have addressed making remittances and Diasporas work for development, reducing the negative impact of "brain drain" and "brain waste" and, increasingly, the transfer of pension rights, circular migration and the social aspects of migration. Global Approach initiatives also help to promote asylum and refugee protection in non-EU countries, to support Regional Protection Programmes, to promote migrants’ rights, etc. Financial and technical assistance in support of the Global Approach The bulk of external actions under the umbrella of Home Affairs are currently supported through geographic and thematic external instruments pertaining to EU International Affairs policies. In addition, a specific programme has been set up for cooperation with non-EU countries in the areas of migration and asylum. Although relatively small (average annual budget of EUR 55 million, i.e. EUR 384 million for the period 2007-13), this programme is a centre piece in terms of supporting the external dimension of migration and asylum policies. Geographic balance The initial focus has been on the Southern Mediterranean and Sub-Saharan Africa, where it has substantially contributed to dealing with the migration situation on the Western Africa route towards the EU in a holistic way. More recently, in May 2011, the Global Approach has been called upon to play a key role in addressing the migration crisis in the Southern Mediterranean. The focus of the Global Approach has, however, evolved to include a similar emphasis on interaction with the countries lying to the East and South East of the EU. More recently, activities have also been expanded to cover Latin America and the Caribbean as well as Central Asia and other parts of Asia. Initiatives have ranged from bilateral and sub-regional to continental dialogue and cooperation. There is now a broad range of regional processes, including notably the Rabat Process and the EU-Africa Partnership on Migration, Mobility and Employment in the South, the Prague Process (Building Migration Partnerships) and the Budapest Process in the East, the EU-ACP Migration Dialogue with the ACP countries and the EU-LAC structured dialogue on migration with Latin America. Moreover, migration is also included in broader dialogue and cooperation frameworks with all world regions. Specific tools for dialogue and cooperation with non-EU countries Under the framework of the Global Approach to migration, the EU has developed a number of specific tools that are currently being consolidated:
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