Mechanisms of Voluntary Return Migration: the EU Engagement with West Africa Countries

Facing increasing migratory flows from developing countries, Europe is taking steps to curb them. This study examines this issue with a focus on voluntary return migration under the crisis-induced functioning of the West Africa (donor countries) – North Africa (transit countries) – European Union (recipient countries) migration system. The article aims to identify the legal mechanisms for implementing this policy and to determine the territorial structure of return migration flows to West African states. An analysis of international agreements and national migration strategies reveals that the development of voluntary return migration mechanisms implemented in Western Africa effectively serves as a tool for the externalisation of EU migration policy. IOM and Frontex statistical data indicate, first, the encapsulation of the migration crisis within West Africa's borders and, second, a strong interconnection between the countries of origin of irregular migrants and the coverage of voluntary return programme implementation, highlighting the conditional nature of the "voluntary" character of these returns. Certain countries occupying a key position within the migration system receive greater support from the IOM. The authors conclude that the European Union's approaches to externalising migration policy are short-sighted, as they exacerbate disintegration processes within ECOWAS, weaken the sovereignty of West African states, and provoke social conflicts at both the national and local levels. It is emphasised that this situation may ultimately have negative consequences for the EU as well, since the destabilisation of the socio-political situation could aggravate the serious migration crisis in developing regions of the world, making its future encapsulation impossible.