This paper examines the role of funding in the EU’s external policies on migration, borders and asylum. Academics have looked extensively into the political and legal resources of the EU in this area, but surprisingly little attention has been paid to the role of funding in the governance of this cooperation with third countries. The objective of this paper is to understand what EU funds are involved and which actors are setting priorities for funding in the field of migration, borders and asylum. This is a highly technical field of EU governance, characterised by complex political and legal dynamics. The funding landscape is fragmented and incoherent, with limited coordination, but this incoherence can be understood in light of the broader political, sociological and institutional struggles that come to the fore in the setting of priorities for funding. This paper argues that a certain degree of incoherence is an inevitable characteristic of EU governance in this field. The bigger issue is the challenge posed to accountability by this EU funding.
Leonhard den Hertog is a TRANSMIC postdoctoral researcher within the Justice and Home Affairs unit at CEPS, Brussels, and Faculty of Law, Maastricht University.
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