What changed between the draft committee report and the plenary report

MOTION FOR A EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION

on reinforcing development cooperation to address irregular population movements and their root causes in partner countries

(2025/2111(INI))

The European Parliament,

Changed:– having regard to ArticleArticles 208(1)79 and 208 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,Union (TFEU),

Changed:– having regard to Articles 3(5) and 21 of the Treaty on European Union,Union (TEU),

Added:– having regard to the Commission staff working document of 30 June 2021 entitled ‘Applying the Human Rights Based Approach to international partnerships – An updated Toolbox for placing rights-holders at the centre of EU’s Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation’ (SWD(2021)0179),

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2021/947 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 June 2021 establishing the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument – Global Europe1,

Changed:– having regard to the Commission proposal of 16 JuneJuly 2025 for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing Global Europe (COM(2025)0551),

– having regard to Regulation (EU) 2024/1351 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 May 2024 on asylum and migration management, amending Regulations (EU) 2021/1147 and (EU) 2021/1060 and repealing Regulation (EU) No 604/20132,

Changed:– having regard to the Commission proposal of 11 March 2025 for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a common system for the return of third-country nationals staying illegally in the Union, and repealing Directive 2008/115/EC of the European Parliament and the Council, Council Directive 2001/40/EC and Council Decision 2004/191/EC (COM(2025)0101),

Removed:– having regard to the joint statement by the Council and the representatives of the governments of the Member States meeting within the Council, the European Parliament and the Commission of 30 June 2017 on the New European Consensus on Development – ‘Our world, our dignity, our future’,

Added:– having regard to the Partnership Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Members of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States, of the other part (the Samoa Agreement)3,

Removed:– having regard to the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa,

Added:– having regard to the Commission communication of 27 April 2022 on attracting skills and talent to the EU (COM(2022)0657),

Added:– having regard to the Pact for the Mediterranean,

Added:– having regard to the joint statement by the Council and the representatives of the governments of the Member States meeting within the Council, the European Parliament and the Commission of 7 June 2017 on the New European Consensus on Development – ‘Our world, our dignity, our future’,

Added:– having regard to the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF) and European Court of Auditors special report 17/2024 of 25 September 2024 entitled ‘The EU trust fund for Africa – Despite new approaches, support remained unfocused’,

Added:– having regard to the Commission communication of 4 June 2025 entitled ‘European Water Resilience Strategy’ (COM(2025)0280),

Added:– having regard to its resolution of 7 May 2025 on the European water resilience strategy4,

– having regard to the joint communication by the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of 1 December 2021 entitled ‘The Global Gateway’ (JOIN(2021)0030),

Changed:– having regard to the joint communication by the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of 2 October 20252024 entitled 'Building‘Building sustainable international partnerships as a Team Europe'Europe’ (JOIN(2024)0025),

– having regard to the European Council conclusions of 17 October 2024 on migration,

Changed:– having regard to theUN GlobalGeneral Assembly resolution 73/195 of 19 December 2018 entitled ‘Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, adopted on 10 December 2018,Migration’,

Removed:– having regard to the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted at the UN Sustainable Development Summit on 25 September 2015 in New York and establishing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and in particular to the SDG 10.7 target calling for countries to facilitate the orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people through planned and well-managed migration policies,

Added:– having regard to UN General Assembly resolution 71/1 of 19 September 2016 entitled ‘New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants’,

Removed:– having regard to its resolution of 25 March 2021 on a new EU-Africa Strategy – a partnership for sustainable and inclusive development3,

Added:– having regard to UN General Assembly resolution 70/1 entitled ‘Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’, adopted at the UN Sustainable Development Summit on 25 September 2015 in New York and establishing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and in particular to SDG 10.7,

Added:– having regard to the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees of 1951, and its 1967 New York Protocol,

Added:– having regard to the guidelines of the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development on migration-related activities in official development assistance (ODA) and the associated toolkit,

Added:– having regard to the European Convention on Human Rights of 1950,

Added:– having regard to the study conducted for its Committee on Development on the role of EU development cooperation in addressing irregular migration in Africa5,

Added:– having regard to its resolution of 25 March 2021 on a new EU-Africa Strategy – a partnership for sustainable and inclusive development6,

– having regard to Rule 55 of its Rules of Procedure,

Changed:– having regard to the report of the Committee on Development (A10-0000/2025),(A10-0147/2026),

Change 1

Changed:A. whereas migration and mobility, peace, good governance, stability, inclusive growth and sustainable development are strongly interlinked; whereas migration is driven by complexboth macro- and interrelatedmicro-level factors such as disinformation, human trafficking, armed conflict, political instability, economic hardshiphardship, lack of opportunities and poverty, foodlimited insecurityaccess andto environmentalsocial degradation4;protection whereasmechanisms, developmentinadequate cooperationservice aimsprovision, marginalisation, discrimination against or persecution of vulnerable people, including with regard to tackletheir thesefreedom factorsof drivingreligion irregularor migration;belief, food insecurity and scarce access to clean water, and environmental degradation and climate change7;

Change 2

Removed:B. whereas since 2015, the EU has been facing unprecedented migration flows, with over 8.5 million requests for asylum submitted in EU Member States5;

Added:B. whereas irregular population movements include different categories of migrants, such as refugees and asylum seekers seeking international protection; whereas applicants for international protection can remain in the Member States responsible, pending a decision on their application;

Removed:C. whereas 4.3 million people migrated to the EU from non-EU countries in 2023, not including asylum seekers and refugees from Ukraine under temporary protection6;

Added:C. whereas development cooperation plays a fundamental role in eradicating poverty, addressing fragile contexts, promoting human development and sustainability in all its dimensions, addressing global challenges through international partnerships that uphold and promote European values and interests, and contributing to peace and prosperity in the world;

Removed:D. whereas many countries of origin of asylum applicants are low-income countries or developing economies, such as Afghanistan, Syria, Bangladesh, Mali and Tunisia; whereas the acceptance rate for asylum seekers from some of these countries is quite low7;

Added:D. whereas EU development policy fosters sustainable development and stability in developing countries, with the ultimate goal of eradicating extreme poverty in line with the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs, as per Article 208 TFEU, while upholding the principle of policy coherence for development;

Removed:E. whereas development cooperation plays a fundamental role in addressing the root causes of irregular migration by supporting the rule of law and strengthening law enforcement as well as by creating sustainable economic opportunities, enhancing governance and fostering peace and stability;

Added:E. whereas development cooperation must be based on verifiable results and on a concrete shared commitment to sustainable development;

Removed:F. whereas the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum emphasises the importance of comprehensive migration partnerships based on political dialogue, mutual commitment and a whole-of-route approach;

Added:F. whereas the EUTF was created to address the root causes of instability, forced displacement and irregular migration and to contribute to better migration management; whereas the European Court of Auditors found in its review that the EUTF fell short of achieving many of its objectives because effective strategies were not always clearly identified;

Removed:G. whereas the Global Gateway strategy offers an opportunity to align development cooperation with migration objectives by promoting job creation, vocational training and sustainable investment in countries of origin and transit;

Added:G. whereas since 2015, the EU has been facing unprecedented migration flows, the management of which has required sustained effort from Member States, and whereas it is therefore necessary to strengthen European development policies to address the root causes of irregular migration and forced displacement, given that over 8.5 million requests for asylum were submitted in EU Member States between 2015 and 20248; whereas the irregular border crossings at the EU’s external borders fell by over one quarter (26 %) in 2025 to almost 178 0009; whereas a majority of migrants coming to Europe arrive through legal channels; whereas SDG 10 target 7 calls for countries to facilitate the orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people through planned and well-managed migration policies;

Removed:H. whereas human smuggling networks exploit migrants by offering false promises and profiting off dangerous journeys;

Added:H. whereas 4.2 million people migrated to the EU from non-EU countries in 202410;

Removed:I. whereas the fight against disinformation on migration is essential in combating irregular migration;

Added:I. whereas many countries of origin of asylum applicants are low- and middle-income countries; whereas acceptance rates for asylum seekers from these countries vary considerably;

Removed:J. whereas a fair and firm, but humane, common European asylum system and robust external border management remain indispensable in the external dimension of migration, including in development cooperation;

Added:J. whereas in 2024, EU countries granted protection status to 437 900 asylum seekers, up 6.9 % compared with 2023 (409 530); whereas this was the highest number since the peaks recorded after the refugee crisis related to the war in Syria in 2016 and 2017; whereas the recognition rate at the EU level, meaning the share of positive decisions among the total number of asylum decisions, was 51.4 % for first instance decisions in 2024;

Removed:K. whereas readmission agreements and effective cooperation with partner countries on return and reintegration are critical to the overall success of migration management;

Added:K. whereas in 2024, 124 000 non-EU citizens were refused entry into the EU, 919 000 were found without status, 453 000 were issued return decisions and around 110 000 were effectively returned to a country outside the EU11; whereas roughly 20 % of those who were issued return decisions were actually returned12;

Added:L. whereas the most frequent international migration journeys are between neighbouring countries; whereas the large majority of refugees, people in need of international protection and internally displaced people, are hosted in low- and middle-income countries; whereas the economic burden on those countries is heavy and it affects their own social and economic cohesion and development; whereas development cooperation therefore plays a crucial role in supporting displaced populations and host communities;

Added:M. whereas Africa is facing internal migration, with about 80 % of all African migration occurring within the continent; whereas in 2024, sub-Saharan Africa recorded 19.3 million new internal displacements, 11.5 million of which were caused by conflict and 7.8 million by disasters; whereas the total number of internally displaced people in Africa reached 38.8 million between 2015 and 2024, accounting for 46 % of the global total, with 68 % of them coming from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Somalia and Sudan;

Added:N. whereas as of June 2025, 117.3 million people had been forced to flee their homes globally due to persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations or events seriously disturbing public order; whereas 42.5 million of these were refugees, 67.8 million were internally displaced people, and 8.42 million were asylum seekers13;

Added:O. whereas the Global Trends Report and surveys of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) show that most refugees and displaced people do not want to leave their countries but are compelled by threats such as conflict, persecution, violence or extreme hardship; whereas a 2023 UNHCR survey found that the vast majority of refugees would prefer to remain in their communities if their security and livelihoods were guaranteed;