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

Wording as published by the EP, in English.

1. Amendment 4Adopted

   Paragraph 18 a (new)

   Tabled by Lena Düpont, Andrea Wechsler, Tomáš Zdechovský +81 · Members

   Added: 18a. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to strengthen their capacity to prevent and respond to the instrumentalisation of migrants; stresses the need for enhanced cooperation with partner countries and relevant agencies to detect, prevent and counter such actions;

2. Amendment 6Rejected

   Recital Q

   Tabled by Mieke Andriese, Mathilde Androuët, Gerolf Annemans +80 · Members

   … for irregular migration by promoting stability, security and self-sufficiency in partner countries; Added: whereas the primary objective of development cooperation should be to enable people to live in dignity in their own countries, by supporting local employment, access to water and energy, education, industrial development, food security and resilient public services, rather than by facilitating their departure to the EU;

3. Amendment 7Rejected

   Recital AI a (new)

   Tabled by Mieke Andriese, Mathilde Androuët, Gerolf Annemans +80 · Members

   Added: AIa. whereas development cooperation is not an end in itself, and the Commission should ensure that EU funding, which derives from European taxpayers, should primarily serve the needs, interests and well-being of the citizens of the Member States; whereas the Commission must ensure sound financial management and the protection of the financial interest of European citizens; whereas the Member States are expected to abide by the principle of national priorities in managing public resources, ensuring that obligations towards their own citizens prevail over any other allocation of public expenditure;

4. Amendment 8Rejected

   Recital AJ

   Tabled by Mieke Andriese, Mathilde Androuët, Gerolf Annemans +79 · Members

   AJ. whereas migration Removed: can contribute to sustainable development and inclusive growth both in countries of origin and in destination countries, as well as within and across regions; whereas migration has an economic impact both on the country of destination and the country of origin; whereas this impact may be seen in migrants’ contribution to the public finances, employment and job creation, as well as in the role of diaspora communities in supporting the economic development of their countries of origin; Added: generates serious economic, social and demographic costs for countries of origin, in particular through the loss of working-age populations, skilled workers, students, entrepreneurs and professionals; whereas large-scale emigration accelerates brain drain and deprives partner countries of the human capital required for their own stability, industrialisation and long-term prosperity; whereas development cooperation must not be used as an instrument to organise the permanent transfer of human capital from partner countries to the EU; whereas cooperation with third countries should instead aim to anchor populations locally, strengthen domestic opportunities and reduce the economic, social and security incentives for irregular departures;

5. Amendment 9Rejected

   Paragraph 1 a (new)

   Tabled by Mieke Andriese, Mathilde Androuët, Gerolf Annemans +80 · Members

   Added: 1a. Recalls that development cooperation is neither an end in itself nor an unconditional obligation to transfer resources; stresses that all EU external funding should primarily contribute to and complement the needs, interests and national priorities of the Member States, strengthen the security of citizens and enhance the protection of the EU’s external borders, and deliver concrete, measurable and verifiable results; rejects any approach that disconnects development assistance from the effective cooperation of beneficiary countries in preventing irregular immigration, ensuring border control, combating migrant smuggling networks and accepting return and readmission procedures;

6. Amendment 10Rejected

   Paragraph 15

   Tabled by Mieke Andriese, Mathilde Androuët, Gerolf Annemans +80 · Members

   … the prevention of the exploitation of migrants by criminal networks and migrant Removed: smugglers, as well as by providing safer alternatives through the creation of legal channels for safe and regular migration and labour mobility; underlines that strict border control without alternative legal pathways for migration shifts migration routes, introducing different steps into the journey and new transit countries, thus increasing the precariousness of the journey and the exposure of migrants to smuggling networks, extortion and violence; Added: smugglers; condemns any collaboration, whether direct or indirect, with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) or other organisations related to human trafficking networks, notably those that facilitate smuggling operations in international waters far away from European coasts or disseminate information enabling migrants to circumvent Member States’ immigration laws;

7. Amendment 11Rejected

   Paragraph 25 a (new)

   Tabled by Mieke Andriese, Mathilde Androuët, Gerolf Annemans +80 · Members

   Added: 25a. Strongly rejects any approach under which development cooperation would become an instrument for addressing demographic decline or labour shortages in the EU by recruiting the young and skilled workforce of partner countries;

8. Amendment 12Rejected

   Paragraph 33 a (new)

   Tabled by Mieke Andriese, Mathilde Androuët, Gerolf Annemans +80 · Members

   Added: 33a. Calls on the Commission to make development support for partner countries strictly conditional on effective cooperation on combating mass migration, including the prevention of irregular departures, consular identification, the issuing of travel documents, the systematic acceptance of returns and readmissions, and the fight against trafficking and smuggling networks; stresses that EU funding should be regularly assessed; calls on the Commission to systematically apply mechanisms for the suspension, reduction or reallocation of funding in such circumstances;