Documents released today by civil liberties organization Statewatch reveal the European Union is expanding its migration control cooperation with Côte d’Ivoire through deportation arrangements and counter-smuggling initiatives that critics describe as outsourcing border management to African nations.
The disclosed materials detail a Belgian-funded project called MIGRET that launched in Côte d’Ivoire in 2024 and runs through 2028. While the project’s budget remains undisclosed, officials describe its purpose as supporting the “sustainable integration of returnees,” a term typically referring to migrants deported from European countries back to their nations of origin.
The initiative represents part of what advocacy groups characterize as a broader European strategy linking development assistance with return and reintegration programs. This approach has drawn scrutiny from civil society organizations concerned about conditioning aid on migration control compliance.
Beyond the MIGRET program, the EU and Côte d’Ivoire have reportedly strengthened operational coordination on deportations. Senior officials from Frontex, the European Commission and the Ivorian government met in Brussels on April 9 to finalize operational arrangements for implementing the EU-Côte d’Ivoire readmission agreement, according to the documents.
Security attachés from Côte d’Ivoire are already assisting with identifying Ivorian nationals in Belgium, France, Germany and Italy. The EU reportedly aims to extend these identification activities across all member states, raising what rights organizations describe as concerns about racial profiling.
“Côte d’Ivoire is one of many African states the EU wants to pressure into accepting its immigration control and deportation priorities,” said Chris Jones, Director of Statewatch. He argued that regardless of whether the Ivorian government agrees with EU priorities, it faces structural disadvantages given the financial and political power disparities.
Jones added that the arrangement carries what he called clear colonial echoes, particularly as the EU considers placing additional migration-related conditions on development aid. The approach mirrors broader patterns documented across Africa, where the European Commission has proposed substantial increases in external action funding, with external migration control remaining a stated priority.
Sarah Chander, Director of the Equinox Initiative for Racial Justice, expressed concern about the data sharing implications of expanded operational cooperation. “As the EU continues its operational cooperation with third countries, it expands the exchange of data for the purpose of expanding its deportation regime,” Chander said.
She warned that such data exchanges could translate into increased stop and search operations, racial profiling, and potential violence against racialized communities in Europe. The identification process coordinated by security attachés may encourage discriminatory targeting of Black communities, according to rights organizations.
Côte d’Ivoire has historically served as a migration destination in West Africa but has increasingly become a country of emigration for young Ivorians in recent years, now ranking among the top five countries of residence for migrants reaching southern European borders.
The West African nation joined the International Organization for Migration in June 2000 to assist with managing migration flows. An annual meeting between Abidjan and Brussels in August 2025 reportedly aimed to consolidate migration cooperation, with both parties reaffirming their stated commitment to combating irregular migration.
How the EU organizes and encourages cooperation from non-EU states in migration control remains less publicly documented than the existence of such cooperation itself, according to Statewatch analysis. The organization has used access to documents requests to reveal details about coordination mechanisms that typically operate without substantial parliamentary scrutiny.
The documents arrive as EU member states explore ways to improve the outsourcing of border and migration controls to non-EU countries, an approach that advocacy groups argue entails increased funding for authoritarian regimes and heightened violence against migrants and refugees.
Whether Côte d’Ivoire’s deepening role in European migration management will deliver the sustainable integration promised in project titles, or simply expand deportation capacity, remains a central question for observers tracking the EU’s external migration agenda.
