With a budget of nearly 5 billion euro and operations in 26 countries across the African continent, the European Union Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF) - launched in 2015 to address instability, displacement, and irregular migration – represents the largest EU initiative adopting the root causes approach to migration.

As the EUTF comes to an end this year, the JRC assessed its relevance and coherence in relation to context, beneficiary needs and policy objectives, focusing on the Horn of Africa region (HoA). The results offer timely lessons for the development of future migration-related development interventions in the region and beyond.

Some key findings include:

1. The EUTF strategies varied across countries but in no case they exclusively focused on root causes. Reflecting the complex and diverse needs of its operational context, for the majority of countries (Sudan, Djibouti, Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia) interventions concentrated on managing existing displacement crises by addressing immediate needs and integrating refugees and migrants into local labor markets and host communities. In Somalia and South Sudan, EUTF interventions addressed key vulnerabilities of the general population, including climate disasters, food insecurity and violent extremism, and targeted improvements in living conditions and access to basic services.
2. Regional programmes effectively complemented national initiatives, with a focus on regional institutional capacities and cross-border initiatives (as fight to migrant smuggling and trafficking in persons) involving also neighboring Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Without explicitly referring to it, some EUTF-funded initiatives in the HoA pioneered what today is referred to as whole-of-route approach, providing protection and durable solutions along migration journeys.
3. The EUTF almost exclusively focused on the most vulnerable forms of migration, such as irregular and forced movements, and lacked sufficient consideration of other types of human mobility as labour migration. This narrow approach overlooks the broader developmental context and benefits of migration, including the importance of informal movements in sustaining local communities, and the potential gains from creating legal pathways.
4. EUTF programming demonstrated an overall capacity to adapt to evolving circumstances, such as the COVID-19 pandemic or the severe droughts that hit Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia between 2020 and 2023, and to adjust its approach in response to evolving political dynamics, such as the 2019 coup in Sudan.
5. EUTF programmes responded adequately to the needs of targeted populations, although some vulnerable groups, such as internally displaced persons, received limited attention despite increasing numbers especially in Ethiopia and Somalia.
6. Documenting impact on migration flows and displacement patterns was a challenge. However, this issue is not unique to the EUTF, as the relationship between development aid and migration is complex and non-linear, making it challenging to assess the effectiveness of the root causes approach and resulting in mixed evidence.

Consequent lessons and implications for future programmes:

1. Foster complementarity between humanitarian-development-peace instruments, as well as between regional and national programmes. This integrated approach will enable a more comprehensive response, especially in conflict-affected areas, addressing both immediate needs and longer-term development objectives. With regards to national and regional programmes, the former could focus on migration drivers in close alignment with development needs in each partner country, while the latter could focus on issues that require supranational cooperation - such as combating migrant smuggling or promoting circular migration - and remain more flexible while addressing the so-called triggering or intervening factors behind irregular migration flows.
2. Advance a broader migration agenda. This requires fully adopting a route-based approach, which involves collaboration with countries of origin and transit to achieve common development goals, and expanding pathways that offer viable and lawful alternatives to irregular migration. By doing so, the EU can promote a more sustainable and inclusive migration management framework, ultimately contributing to improved development outcomes for countries of origin.
3. Encourage clear and realistic policy discussions about the root causes approach and its limitations, while setting more realistic expectations and goals for migration impacts of development cooperation. In this sense, it is crucial for policy actors to recognize that development aid is only one of many factors influencing migration and displacement dynamics, and that the choice of what to focus on should be based on realistic expectations of what can be achieved through development interventions, considering political priorities and limited resources.

The above findings derive from an analysis of EUTF interventions in the HoA region, covering Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda. The JRC adopted a comprehensive methodology, involving a desk review, systematic screening of EUTF Action Documents, and expert consultations.

The full policy brief is available for download here.