Aid for whom? The instrumentalization of aid for migration control through the EU trust fund in Morocco

Security and stability have been the priority axes of the European Union in the Southern Neighbourhood, often to the detriment of democracy and socio-economic development. A remarkable effect is the securitization of migration policy and the instrumentalization of development policy. These dynamics are significant in the EU’s bilateral relations with the countries of North Africa. This article contributes to a better understanding of the migration-security-development nexus in EU–Morocco relations. Special attention will be paid to the instrumentalization of EU development policy in the interest of the EU’s migration control agenda. It is understood as part of a broader process of securitization of the EU migration policy. The diversion of aid towards objectives other than development is one of the most visible forms of the aforementioned instrumentalization. For that reason, the security-focused projects of the Emergency Trust Fund for Africa in Morocco will be analysed, as an example of how the development aid is being instrumentalized and diverted to the EU migration objectives.