Sahel, North Africa Integration key to Overcoming Security, Migration Challenges, EU Bulletin

Integration between the Sahel and North Africa is key to addressing the stability challenges and the deteriorating security conditions, which trigger migration flows, said the EU Bulletin news website.

The website stressed in an analysis the need for the EU to promote a holistic approach to bring North Africa and the Sahel closer to counter the rise of terrorism and migration and to fight corruption and informal economy, which still overpower the rule of law and governance.

According to the EU Bulletin, regional integration between North Africa and the Sahel would curb the appeal of operating in the informal economy and at the same time provide opportunities for legal work in the region.

The formalization of some previously clandestine economic activity could boost development and economic diversification while creating jobs, the analysis noted.

“To address migration, the EU should help the region’s countries create a joint migration framework for the Sahel, West Africa and the Maghreb. Europe should further help to regularize and legalize population flows while providing regional and financial assistance to economic projects. Moreover, the EU should try to find ways to keep a leeway for legal migration to Europe and thus take stress off of regional communities,” it added.

At the security level, EU Bulletin advocates a “long-term focus that goes beyond training for troops” as well as a better integration of security and governance initiatives to make security durable and sustainable.

To strengthen regional institutions and governance, the EU Bulletin considers that the EU should help harmonize and coordinate the region’s bodies and help reduce dependence on international support.