Access denied: Secrecy and the externalisation of EU migration control

For at least three decades, the EU and its Member States have engaged in a process of “externalisation” – a policy agenda by which the EU seeks to prevent migrants and refugees setting foot on EU territory by externalising (that is, outsourcing) border controls to non-EU states. The EU’s New Pact on Migration and Asylum, published in September 2020, proposed a raft of measures seeking to step up operational cooperation and collaboration in order to further this agenda.

For at least three decades, the EU and its Member States have engaged in a process of “externalisation” – a policy agenda by which the EU seeks to prevent migrants and refugees setting foot on EU territory by externalising (that is, outsourcing) border controls to non-EU states. The EU’s New Pact on Migration and Asylum, published in September 2020, proposed a raft of measures seeking to step up operational cooperation and collaboration in order to further this agenda.

This report aims to contribute to public and political debate on the transparency, accountability and legitimacy of the externalisation agenda. It contains a series of case studies on three key target states for the EU – Bosnia and Herzegovina, Morocco and Niger – based on information received in response to access to documents and freedom of information requests submitted to institutions within those countries, as well as within the EU itself.

Full report

• Access denied: Secrecy and the externalisation of EU migration control (pdf)

News article

• European interior ministers agreed new deportation scheme in secret

Op-ed

• The secrecy behind the EU’s plans to ‘externalise’ migration

Find out more

• Browse the document collection from the report
• Watch a recording of the event we hosted last November to discuss the research
• Explore our extensive archives on the externalisation of migration and border control