EU Court of Auditors critiques the EUTF, citing scattered funds, inflated project claims, and inadequate human rights focus on migrants.
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A European Court of Auditors report criticizes the EU Trust Fund (EUTF), a €5 billion fund established in 2015 to address migration flows in vulnerable regions like the Sahel, Horn of Africa, and North Africa. The audit found issues such as scattered funding, projects with inflated effectiveness claims, and inadequate attention to migrants’ human rights. Bettina Jakobsen, the responsible auditor, highlighted that the EUTF’s model is based on fragmented support lacking strategic focus, calling into question EU migration policies, particularly those involving externalizing border control in countries like Libya and Tunisia. The report details various irregularities, including inflated reporting and unsustainable activities, such as infrastructure projects not directly related to the migration crisis. A major criticism concerns human rights violations, exemplified by EUTF’s support for Libyan coast guard operations intended to increase surveillance but potentially leading to abuses, with a lack of external monitoring in detention centers. Jakobsen stressed that the fund needs greater focus on urgent priorities and noted that project results are often overstated, while also pointing out the Commission lacks formal procedures to properly track alleged human rights violations related to funded projects.
