Prof. Janine Silga: EU Policy on Migration and Development in the New Pact on Migration and Asylum: A New Iteration of the Colonial Legacy?

Berkeley Law’s Miller Institute for Global Challenges and the Law is delighted to cosponsor this event happening on the UC Berkeley campus:

The external dimension of the EU migration policy relies to a large extent on its development policy to foster ‘mutually beneficial partnerships’ between the EU and non-EU Member States. This was last confirmed in the EU New Pact on Migration and Asylum and especially in the Asylum and Migration Management Regulation (AMMR) adopted in May 2024. As part of the ‘external components’ of the revamped ‘comprehensive approach to asylum and migration management’, this instrument mentions that the ‘root causes and drivers of irregular migration and forced displacement’ have to be addressed. The mention of the ‘root causes’ of irregular migration is in direct reference to the EU’s approach to migration and development.

As an EU policy concept, the ‘migration-development nexus’ has had a tortuous evolution, leading to its current fragmentation and ‘capture’ by the EU migration policy. Beyond the ongoing emphasis of the EU migration policy on the ‘fight against irregular migration’, prioritising readmission and return, the ‘migration-development nexus’ has especially born witness to the way in which the colonial legacy of the EU has kept reinventing itself.

By tracing the evolution of the ‘migration-development nexus’ in the EU policy framework, from the early 1990s to the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, this lecture highlights how the latter contributes to maintain and perpetuate a (neo)colonial relationship, especially with African countries.

Janine Silga is an Assistant Professor of European Union law, at the School of Law and Government of Dublin City University. Prior to joining DCU, she held postdoctoral positions at the University of Luxembourg and at the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. She completed her PhD in Law at the European University Institute of Florence with a dissertation on the legal dimension of the migration – development nexus in the European Union policy framework. Her research focuses on immigration law and policy both at the European and international level. In this respect, she has done substantial research on human rights in connection to both migration and asylum.

If you require an accommodation for effective communication (ASL interpreting/CART captioning, alternative media formats, etc.) or information about campus mobility access features in order to fully participate in this event, please contact ies@berkeley.edu with as much advance notice as possible and at least 7-10 days before the event.