Filenews 9 July 2025
African countries will have to curb migration outflows if they want to continue receiving development aid from the EU, according to a proposal the European Commission will submit as part of its seven-year fiscal plan to be presented next week, according to an internal draft document cited by Politico.
The Commission's proposal links EU aid to poorer countries to concrete results in preventing migrants from entering. It reflects the EU executive's tougher approach to immigration, after right-wing parties secured significant support in last year's European elections. This shift will lead to the alignment of the EU's development agenda with that of the US and the UK, which use external aid as a lever of pressure to realise the priorities of their voters.
In the plan, the Commission proposes a possible cut in funds to the poorest countries if they do not contribute to reducing migration flows.
"It combines all the appropriate tools and the necessary pressure through flexible incentives, with possible changes in the allocation of migration-related funding," the Commission says in the document setting out its plan for external assistance in the new fiscal cycle, which covers the seven years from 2028.
In doing so, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is giving in to pressure from her centre-right European People's Party and the majority of countries stretching from Italy to Denmark, which are calling for the controversial 2023 agreement with Tunisia and other African states to be extended.
"Greater coherence between migration, asylum and foreign policy policies is needed for the Union's external assistance to effectively support partner countries in managing migration," the text underlines.
However, in order for the plan to pass, von der Leyen will have to convince even the most sceptical MEPs of the Socialists and Greens, who are necessary for the new budget to be approved in the European Parliament. If adopted, it will mark a significant change from the current EU aid model, which is not accompanied by hard conditions.
The issue of Ukraine
In the new plan, the Commission also proposes to consolidate several aid programmes into a Single Global Europe Fund, geographically divided: Europe, the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf, Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and the Pacific, the Americas and the Caribbean.
The final numbers have not yet been announced, but will be communicated internally a few hours before the presentation of the plan. Importantly, funds for the reconstruction of Ukraine will not absorb resources from other regions. A separate fund will be created for the war-torn state for the period 2028-2034, which will cover the rapid recovery, reconstruction and modernization of the country.
The Commission president is expected to officially present the new draft budget next Wednesday.
