Europe's Auxiliary Forces

Model West-Africa

On Tuesday, a "Three-Year Cooperation Programme" for controlling migration to Europe was adopted by the "Euro-African Ministerial Conference" taking place in Paris. It is a follow-up meeting to the conference held in Rabat in July 2006, where, for the first time, ministers from both continents focused on migration control at Brussels initiative. Representatives of approximately 60 European and African nations participated in the Paris conference, to "lay the foundation for concrete steps to further strengthen cooperation along the West-African migratory route," [1] according to Guenter Gloser, State Secretary in the German foreign ministry. The projects that are currently being tested in West-Africa can indeed serve as models. According to Gloser, in the future, Berlin and Brussels will apply them "also to other migratory routes in Africa as well as to the eastern and south eastern regions bordering the EU." Complete EU-wide migration control is the aim.

Berlin-Paris

With the three year program adopted on Tuesday, the EU has de facto imposed a German-French political project on African states. In October 2006, shortly after the conference in Rabat, the interior ministers at the time, Wolfgang Schaeuble and Nicolas Sarkozy, initiated a migration policy that was largely reflected in a decision taken by the European Council in December 2006, which served as the criterion for the German EU Council Presidency (first half of 2007) and the French EU Council Presidency (second half of 2008). The leading EU powers' concept is also being implemented in the decisions taken at the present Euro-African Conference. It is based on three pillars: "Organisation of legal migration" - migrant labour for the EU's production and service industries; "Fight against irregular migration" - refugees and migrants who do not serve the economy should be repelled; "Synergies between migration and development" - elements of a so-called development, feigning to consider humanitarian problems in this co-operation with Africa and not solely European interests.

Human Resources

For the first pillar of the current three year programme, one reads that the "migration management" should be linked "more closely with employment and human resources policies". EU countries should promote migration "according to the needs and capacities of each national economy", employment agencies and employer organisations of both countries should be "implementing twinning projects".[2] Visa formalities for workers should also be simplified. Agencies should be established for the recruitment and professional training of labour migrants, for the organisation of departure procedures and - once their European work residence ends - the reinsertion in the countries of their origin. This programme must be seen in the context of a growing demand for labour in Europe because of the stagnation of the work force. Demographers predict a shortage of 30 million workers by 2030. The German-French plans are mainly focussing on highly qualified personnel. But if highly qualified Africans are recruited by Europe, the loss to African countries is two-fold. Europe profits from the expensive education and training in Africa, while Africa's economy is weakened by the brain drain.

Market

The German-French inspired three year programme is actually focussing on the second pillar, the "Fight against irregular migration". The African states are supposed to create the basis for the comprehensive control of their citizens. Their identity documents are to be adapted to the newest technological standards - through expensive biometric techniques and by cooperating with Europe. In fact, ECOWAS ("Economic Community of West African States") has already ordered its member states to replace their current passports with new counterfeit-proof documents. The government of the Ivory Coast decided to introduce biometric identity papers and has placed the order with a European firm. In the next five years, the Swiss firm Zetes will produce 200,000 passports per year for the Ivory Coast. Zetes will earn 60 million Euros on this project, which is to extend over 15 years. Gemalto, a French firm supplying security equipment to Zetes, is also profiting from this money from Africa. According to Gemalto [3], "other African countries will probably also begin to introduce biometric passports in the coming months." German firms producing legal documents are also active in Africa and can hope for profitable orders - with technology such as biometrics, which are controversial in Europe, but can be put to the test without problem in the dependant African countries.

On Behalf of the EU

According to the three year programme, modern technology is also to be used for border controls - on all borders, including the borders between African countries. Whereas the profits from this technology import - as in the case of biometrics - flows into European industrial countries and help to strengthen their repression industry, African nations fight migration at their own borders - on behalf of the EU. At the same time, Brussels reserves itself the right to contribute - in joint projects - to "improve land, sea and air border control", i.e. if necessary, to intervene itself against migrants.[4] Last but not least, the programme adopted on Tuesday calls on African states to guarantee the reinsertion of their citizens, if they should no longer be wanted in and therefore deported from Europe. Treaties to this effect are to be concluded with the concerned states, the reinsertion of Africans deported from Europe is, after all, strengthening the job market in the African countries of their origin, according to this programme.

Segregation

To make it seem as though this is not solely to serve the EU's interests, but to also satisfy humanitarian concerns, the programme is referring to tentative "development"-programmes. The costs for bank transfers from European to the African states of origin are to be lowered, so that African workers in Europe can better support their families at home, therefore, African banks, the programme proposes, should open up to European financial institutions.[5] Finally the programme demands that the links between African workers in Europe and the communities in their home countries be systematically strengthened. This demand is, in fact, calling for the migrants limiting their integration in the European countries, enhancing thereby segregation, with the objective of pushing migrants to return to Africa when they end their employment in Europe.

Hypocritical

These EU impositions are being met with outrage and protest in West-African nations, including Mali and Senegal. "We are not Europe's gendarmes" [6] writes the Senegalese organisation CONGAD ("Conseil des ONG d'Appui au Développement du Sénégal"). To promote the free flow of capital and commodities, while prohibiting free travel of persons, is part of the "western hypocrisy."[7] CONGAD is no small splinter group, but an umbrella organisation, active since 1982, representing 166 Senegalese, foreign and international NGOs. The organisation has repeatedly criticised the German-European migration policy, for example, last summer, when the new EU deportation guidelines were adopted. CONGAD's statement at the time shows that EU criticism is growing in West-Africa. "CONGAD is outraged", the paper states, "at the adoption of this text that is violating universally recognised human rights and the principles of international solidarity and humanity".[8]

Please read also our EXTRA-Dossier Festung Europa.

[1] Rede von Staatsminister Gloser vor der zweiten euro-afrikanischen Ministerkonferenz zu Migration und Entwicklung, Paris, 25.11.2008
[2] Final Statement; Paris 25.11.2008
[3] Gemalto als Lieferant für elektronische Pässe der Elfenbeinküste ausgewählt; Pressemitteilung von Gemalto 14.04.2008
[4], [5] Final Statement; Paris 25.11.2008
[6] Migrations illégales: l'Europe veut impliquer l'Afrique; Le Monde 25.11.2008
[7] Immigration: les problèmes de fond restent posés; Continentalnews.fr 26.11.2008
[8] Groupe de Travail Migrations et Développement du CONGAD: Déclaration sur la "Directive Retour" de l'Union Européenne sur les migrations; www.congad.sn 11.07.2008