John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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699. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on EU compacts which can result in refugees being returned to their country of origin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28695/17]

John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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700. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he has signed EU compacts which would result in refugees being returned to their country of origin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28696/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 699 and 700 together. The EU’s response to the 2030 Agenda with its new and broader vision of development encompassing also peace and migration, has seen a number of new directions for EU development cooperation. The EU has been responding to the migration crisis and to the long term challenge of demography and job creation in Africa.

In June last year the commission published a Communication setting out a new results-oriented concept of cooperation with third countries, the Migration Partnership Framework. This represents an ambitious comprehensive approach that fully embeds migration in the EU’s overall foreign policy.

Following the European Council’s adoption of this approach, draft ‘Migration Compacts’, intended as country-specific frameworks for political engagement, were drawn up for the first five priority countries identified. These are Niger, Nigeria, Mali, Senegal and Ethiopia. As the situation in Africa evolves, including the number and scale of humanitarian crises, climate related challenges, demographic pressures and persistent food insecurity, there is a strong recognition that Africa's and Europe's interests have become more and more interconnected.

Ireland is working actively with our EU colleagues on the new Partnership Framework for all five priority countries. We have focused in particular on the discussions with Ethiopia, one of Ireland's key bilateral partners in Africa. We support the Partnership Framework as a key element of EU efforts to prevent human trafficking and address the root causes of irregular migration, and we will continue to engage positively in the process.

An important part of the new EU approach for a Partnership Framework is increasing coherence between migration and development, to ensure that assistance provided helps partner countries to address the root causes of migration and to better manage migration, including by preventing irregular migration and countering smuggling and trafficking in human beings. Assistance is also being provided to reinforce the current international protection system for refugees in the partner countries, as well as to improve cooperation between the EU and third countries on readmission and return of those not entitled to reside in the EU. This does not include those with refugee status.

While implementation of partnership frameworks remains a work in progress and none has yet been finalised, progress has been made, notably with Niger, where the fight against people-smugglers has stepped up, a dedicated agency to combat human trafficking has been established and the outgoing flow of migrants has decreased.