This project is a common endeavor of the PCC, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES), the American University of Beirut – Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs (AUB), and the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP).
The European Commission and the High Representative adopted on 9 February 2021 a Joint Communication proposing an ambitious and innovative new Agenda for the Mediterranean. In it, migration holds a key position. The current political, social, climate cand economic situation in much of the South Mediterranean has produced new challenges, especially in terms of human mobility. The latter is part of a broader shift in regional dynamics that generate human movement, partly towards the EU. Migration is also an integral element of human security, with the latter shifting the focus from states to individuals, communities and the relationship between security and development (1994 UNDP Report on Human Development).
In December 2023, a political agreement was reached on the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, which is expected now to be approved at the EU Parliament plenary session in March or April of 2024. The Pact prioritizes the external dimension, with a particular emphasis on North Africa and the Southern Mediterranean. Though the term human security does not explicitly appear in the Pact, the links between security and development are there and have already influenced the development of bilateral agreements on migration between the EU and third countries.
The foreign policy of migration is a priority at EU level, but it is also a priority for front line countries like Greece and Cyprus that are exposed by virtue of their geography to irregular flows and at the same time constraint in their ability to pursue a foreign policy of migration with all the countries in the region. For Cyprus, in 2023 the Green Line was the primary entry point for irregular migrants, albeit with a substantial reduction in arrivals compared to the previous year. Cyprus saw sea arrivals from Syrian nationals (some departing from Lebanon) and Palestinians, Lebanese, and Moroccans. For Greece, Syrians, Palestinians, Egyptians constituted three of the nationalities arriving in 2023 primarily through the maritime border.
The objective of the study is to explore and critically reflect on the relationship between the north and the south Mediterranean on migration, potential convergences, as well as divergences in the policy responses through the perspective of human security. We propose to do this by looking at what is taking place, what effects it produces, and what could be done differently. What policies are applied from the EU side and how they are shaping and affecting not just the relationship with the countries of the South but more specifically with their communities, people and human rights. We suggest a focus on Greece and Cyprus for the EU border, Egypt and Lebanon for the Southern Mediterranean based on the current mobility dynamics. Are Lebanon and Egypt – through local communities and/or civil society – contesting the EU script of resilience which is grounded on strengthening capacity to host refugees in the region? And what are the implications in the long run for mobility in the region and particularly for EU front line States like Greece and Cyprus? What can Greece and Cyprus do, as EU member states, to be more engaged in the region in an effective and positive manner as regards migration?
