THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

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THE STATE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
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brings together the countries of the Horn of
AfricaandEastAfricawith themainMediterranean
transit countries, focusing primarily on the traffic
in migrants and the trade in human beings. Once
this goal has been consolidated, the dialogue will
extend to the other pillars of the GAMM. In May
2014, an exploratory meeting was held with the
African Union Commission (AUC) and the main
countries involved (Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea and
Sudan). This meeting was followed rapidly by an-
other involving Senior Officials held on 15
October, focusing on proposals regarding return
and readmission. This dialogue was followed by
the Ministerial Conference on 28 November in
Rome3, at which the Khartoum Process was offi-
cially launched and the Rome Declaration was
adopted. This new Process facilitates both the po-
litical and operational analysis of migration flows
from the Horn of Africa that have increased sig-
nificantly in recent years, in particular those start-
ing in Somalia and Eritrea.
Data from the International Organization for
Migration (IOM)4 shows a rise in the arrival of
migrants in Italy, the majority of them Eritreans,
who account for a large proportion of the flows
towards Europe via North Africa and the
Mediterranean. In 2014, 170,100 immigrants
arrived in Italy, of whom 20 per cent were from
Eritrea. The IOM also reports that the number of
migrants who died while crossing the
Mediterranean rose from 707 in 2013 to 3,224
in 2014. In addition, it is clear that there is a
chilling link between the increase in the total
3 Declaration of the Ministerial Conference of the Khar-
toum Process. (EU–Horn of Africa Migration Route Initia-
tive). Rome. 28.11.2014.
4MURPHY, T. Craig: Irregular Migration by Sea from Horn
of Africa to Arabian Peninsula Increases. IOM. 16.01.2015.
Available at:
news-and-views/press-briefing-notes/pbn-2015/pbn-listing/
irregular-migration-by-sea-from.html
numbers of migrants and deaths in the
Mediterranean and the Horn of Africa and the
profits obtained by migrant trafficking networks
on these routes.
In addition to these two major regional pro-
cesses (Rabat and Khartoum) specifically focus-
ing on migration issues, the Regional Process
between Africa and the EU, launched in Lisbon
in 2007, has also concentrated on deepening
cooperation between the EU and African states
with regard to migration. The Euro-African
Ministerial Conference was held in Brussels in
April 2014, and adopted a third action plan for
the period 2014 to 2017 which includes a
Declaration on Migration and Mobility that es-
tablishes annual meetings to review and assess
the situation of migration routes. The Dialogue
between ACP countries (Africa, the Caribbean
and the Pacific) and the EU has also been ana-
lysing the migration phenomenon since 2011.
Finally, from the perspective of global processes,
the EU is part of the Global Forum on Migration
and Development, a United Nations initiative
that takes a practical and action-oriented ap-
proach to the relationship between migration
and development. The Forum’s most recent
meeting took place in Stockholm in May 2014,
where the main theme was Unlocking the po-
tential of migration for inclusive development.5
Bilateral agreements with the countries
of origin and transit of migration
The global dialogue between the EU and the
regions to the south of the Mediterranean that
5Information about all the dialogues, conventions and
agreements mentioned in these documents can be found
in: Council of Europe. Meeting document: GAMM update.
DS 1522/14. Brussels, 11 November 2014.