EuroQuestions | Externalising our Borders: A New Norm for Europe? with Sarah Wolff

EuroQuestions: Season 2026, Episode 6

*This event will be held in French

Date/Location:
Online, registration required
March 25, 2026

Title:
10 Years After the EU–Turkey Migration Agreement: Has Border Externalisation Become the Norm in European Migration Governance?

Summary:
Ten years after the EU–Turkey statement of March 2016, the EU appears to have gradually institutionalized outsourcing as a central pillar of its migration governance—a key instrument for managing the readmission of irregular migrants to third countries.

Concluded in the context of the 2015–2016 “migration crisis,” the EU–Turkey statement aimed to limit irregular arrivals by returning migrants or refugees who had crossed the Greek border illegally to Turkey, accompanied by European financial support for the management of migrant populations in Turkey.

A decade later, the entry into force of the Asylum and Migration Pact, scheduled for June 2026, marks a new stage in the evolution of the European migration framework. This EuroQuestions session will focus on three key dimensions:

• The evolution of outsourcing in European migration governance
  The EU has strengthened partnerships with Tunisia, Egypt, and Mauritania, but these often informal agreements raise significant questions regarding democratic and legal governance.
• The normative framework and the concept of a “Fortress Europe”
  This discussion will examine the coherence between the Union’s declared democratic and normative commitments and the concrete implementation of these agreements, while analyzing their impact on the EU’s neighborhood.
• The long-term legal and operational viability of the Migration Pact
  Return and readmission procedures may fall outside parliamentary and judicial oversight, raising fundamental questions about responsibility for fundamental rights.

Questions to explore:

• Is the EU–Turkey agreement a precursor to outsourcing, and does it represent a lasting turning point for European migration governance?
• How does the Migration and Asylum Pact formalize outsourcing, and to what extent is it legally regulated and feasible in the long term?
• Within which values framework are EU agreements with third countries established, and what is their impact on those countries?

Speaker Introduction:
Sarah Wolff is a Professor of International Relations and Political Science at Leiden University and the College of Europe. Her research focuses on EU migration and asylum policies, as well as the EU’s relations with the Middle East, North Africa, and the Islamic world. Her latest article, published by Global Europe and titled “European Union Migration Policy in Times of Geopolitical Upheaval”, is directly relevant to this EuroQuestions session.

What are EuroQuestions? 

EuroQuestions are sessions held twice a month in the form of 30-minute online exchanges, bringing together a moderator (Ms. Christine Verger or Mr. William Malaterre) and a guest speaker to discuss European issues. These sessions take place on Wednesdays, from 2:30 PM to 3:00 PM. The speaker is generally given a presentation time of approximately 15/20 minutes, followed by a 10/15-minute exchange with the moderator.