The real common interest

The converging EU and North African migration agendas – where do people’s interests come in?

Publication date: 22 October 2020
Author: Ana Uzelac

For too long the EU’s migration policies have ignored the priorities of the countries it partners with for the sake of its own border security and domestic priorities. These have permeated the domestic migration and asylum policies of the Maghreb countries it supports, including Tunisia and Morocco, in a convergence of national interests of states, at the cost of people’s interests. The EU’s cooperation with its neighbours should encourage a real common interest: protecting people and fulfilling their rights.