Ursula von der Leyen with Tunisia's Kais Saied. The EU says its cash-for-migrant deals with Tunis is mostly about jobs, energy, student exchanges, and other non-migratory related proposals (Photo: European Union, 2023)

EU takes credit for drop in migrant sea arrivals but experts warn otherwise

Migration

by Nikolaj Nielsen, Brussels,

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen is telling leaders that the drop in irregular arrival numbers is due to EU policy and cash-for migrant deals made with autocrats.

It is a position not entirely shared by data experts at the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), a UN offshoot.

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Migration

Author Bio

Nikolaj joined EUobserver in 2012 and covers home affairs. He is originally from Denmark, but spent much of his life in France and in Belgium. He was awarded the King Baudouin Foundation grant for investigative journalism in 2010.