From exception to rule: the EU Trust Fund for Africa

Improving cooperation with countries of origin, transit and destination is central to the new European Agenda on Migration, launched by the European Commission in response to the "refugee crisis" of 2015. The new EU Trust Fund (EUTF) for Africa finances projects in twenty-six African countries. Although initially conceived as a temporary emergency response, it has the potential to become a regular component of the EU’s external migration policy, and can serve as a model for the systematic integration of the EU’s migration interests into its external policy. However ideas diverge concerning the Fund’s priorities. Internally, there is political pressure for the EU to concentrate on cooperation with transit countries in order to further reduce irregular migration to Europe. But narrowing the Fund’s remit in that manner would be incompatible with the objectives of the Global Compacts on Migration and Refugees, which the United Nations adopted in December 2018. The German government should advocate for a comprehensive approach encompassing long-term support for countries of origin and destination. In order to improve the coherence of the EU's external migration policy, the vague goals of the EUTF need to be concretised and broken down into real­istic sub-goals. Migration policy can only have sustainable effects if measures are embedded in a broader development agenda and take adequate consid­eration of the interests of African partner countries. (author's abstract

Alternatives to refugee camps: cities need international support for receiving forcibly displaced people

More and more people are forcibly displaced for longer and longer. An increasingly large number of them find refuge in cities instead of camps. Although this offers opportunities for local integration, it places a heavy burden on city administrations and rarely corresponds to the wishes of host governments, who usually prefer for­cibly displaced people to stay in camps outside cities. Even humanitarian organisations, such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), are often overwhelmed by urban refugee situations. In view of this, at the first Global Refugee Forum in Geneva on 17–18 December 2019, the German government should work to ensure that good practices for supporting affected cities are adapted and that new approaches are created. (Autorenreferat

"Better Migration Management": a good approach to cooperating with countries of origin and transit?

Since the EU and Turkey concluded their refugee agreement, the central Mediterranean is becoming increasingly important again and is currently t he most travelled route for irregular immigration to Europe. A proportion of the refugees and migrants on this route in 2016 came from the Horn of Africa and East Africa. As part of the Khartoum Process, the EU is seeking to cooperate with the countries in this region on migration policy. The Better Migration Management (BMM) programme is one part of these en - deavours. Some civil society actors criticize the programme because they believe it dis- regards human rights and validates despotic regimes. Analysis shows that this claim has, so far, been unjustified. Nevertheless, there is a risk that such cooperation may embolden authoritarian leaders who commit human rights violations. It is, therefore, all the more important to pay attention not only to effectiveness, but also to sustaina- bility and legitimacy when establishing partnerships on migration policy. (author's abstract

Application of graphics processing units to search pipelines for gravitational waves from coalescing binaries of compact objects

We report a novel application of a graphics processing unit (GPU) for the purpose of accelerating the search pipelines for gravitational waves from coalescing binaries of compact objects. A speed-up of 16-fold in total has been achieved with an NVIDIA GeForce 8800 Ultra GPU card compared with one core of a 2.5 GHz Intel Q9300 central processing unit (CPU). We show that substantial improvements are possible and discuss the reduction in CPU count required for the detection of inspiral sources afforded by the use of GPUs

Negative sanctions and the EU's external migration policy: "less for less" not fit for purpose

The European Commission has announced plans to present a new "Pact on Migration and Asylum" during the German EU Council Presidency. It is expected to provide im­petus for the long-overdue reform of the Common European Asylum System, for the strengthening of the EU’s external borders, and for improved cooperation on migra­tion policy with third countries. Many EU states see the latter as being particularly urgent in order to persuade countries of origin to readmit citizens who are obliged to leave the EU. In addition to positive incentives, sanctions against third countries that are unwilling to cooperate are increasingly being discussed. Although sanctions can have a short-term effect, they do not appear to be sustainable and can jeopardise more far-reaching goals of European foreign and development policy. Therefore, during its Presidency, Germany should instead advocate for migration policy instru­ments that aim to achieve a long-term and fair balance of interests between the EU and third countries. (author's abstract

Germany is looking for foreign labour: how to make recruitment development-orientated, sustainable and fair

Germany's shortage of skilled workers has sharply increased, especially in the social and education sectors, health and care, construction and skilled crafts, information technology and jobs in science, technology, engineer­ing and mathematics (STEM). Simultaneously, the demand for low quali­fied labour has also been growing, for instance in help and house­hold-related services. While EU member states continue to be the source for the majority of labour migration, their migration potential is declining due to their simi­larly ageing and shrinking populations. Recruiting workers from third coun­tries, including Germany's development partner countries, will become of strategic importance. In spite of many recent reforms, the recruitment of workers from third coun­tries is still inadequate, and not enough attention has so far been paid to development policy aspects. Germany's recruitment activities need to be more closely embedded in fair, development-orientated partnerships with countries of origin, in which their interests are taken into account and the rights of migrant workers are respected. Since many industrialised countries now recruit workers, this could also be a competitive advantage for Germany. The German government should make use of the extensive experience gained from the pilot projects to attract skilled workers for large-scale recruit­ment programs. These projects will require the systematic co­operation of all relevant ministries (whole-of-government approach) as well as the involvement of civil society and the private sector to set the course for development-orientated recruitment. The German government should engage even more strongly in the rele­vant global processes and forums whilst advocating fair recruitment. (author's abstract

Many refugees, poor data: development cooperation requires higher-quality data

In June 2016, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) presented his latest annual report on the situation of refugees and displaced persons around the world. Once again, this account documents new record levels in refugee numbers, both in industrialised and in developing countries. For governments and aid organisations, these statistics constitute an important basis for addressing displacement-related challenges in a more effective manner. However, the data provided by UNHCR is often incomplete and marked by a number of shortcomings. Increasingly high expectations are being placed on development cooperation in terms of tackling the root causes of forced displacement. Meeting these expectations requires reliable data. (author's abstract

Border security, camps, quotas: the future of European refugee policy?

On 18 March 2016, the EU member states and Turkey concluded an agreement on the return of persons having arrived in Greece irregularly – in the hope of reducing the number of irregular migrants coming into the EU. After months of member states being unable to find a common response to the rising numbers of new arrivals, the agreement is considered a breakthrough by many observers. In fact, the agreement stands for a broader shift in EU refugee policy, which now focuses on the themes of border security, camps and quotas. This goes along with a reorientation from the previously prevalent individual asylum application towards a system where groups of refugees are accepted voluntarily (resettlement). This trend carries serious risks for refugee protection globally. At the same time, however, new forms of cooperation are taking shape that could strengthen the EU asylum system. (author's abstract