The Inter-institutional (Non)cooperation between EU’s and IO’s Agencies and INGOs in Response to the Mediterranean Migration Crisis

The management of the contemporary Mediterranean migration crisis follows the dilemma of a contemporary setting where a trans-boundary crisis is faced by a rising re-nationalization of political discourses. In launching the new EU Agenda on Migration, the EU Commission seems to mirror the above dilemma including, in the Agenda’s four pillars, solutions that respond to domestic political discourses and related to the security of Member States (i.e. borders control, strengthening the capacity of immigrants’ return, etc.), together with features aimed at increasing inter-agencies and inter-institutional co-operation responding to EU’s duty to protect asylum seekers and refugees. Does the long-standing debate on the securitization of migration (with restrictive policies on refugees and asylum seekers) versus a liberal/human rights approach inform EU policy-making? And does such debate affect the EU’s political leadership role in the multi-level system of international protection? The paper attempts to address the above questions analysing the inter-institutional cooperation and non-cooperation between EU agencies and IO agencies (such as UNHCR and IOM) and INGOs as (non) foreseen in EU’s agenda.