Conditionality, Compensation, or Both? Comparative Experiences of Third-Country Cooperation on Migration with the EU

Abstract

Since the late 1990s, the EU has increasingly sought “cooperation” in the field of migration and mobility with countries external to the EU. This paper investigates the EU’s engagement with third countries through the conditionality and compensation nexus–where funding has taken a more prominent place in recent years, alongside other legal and political tools. More specifically, as the EU is less willing to commit to e.g., legal pathways or visa facilitation schemes, it needs to promise other incentives. Building on a comparative analysis, it proposes a new typology casting light on diversity in EU migration partnerships. We show that both conditionality and compensation tools form complex and specific constellations which tend to revolve around one core objective of EU migration policy: reducing irregular migration towards the EU.