The EU has blocked the release of files which may outline plans to pressure countries into migration deals by withholding aid.
Last summer, the Commission proposed new ways to divide funding for non-EU countries. Among these were plans to make access to development funding conditional: countries could either go along with the EU's migration agenda or lose access to aid.
3 media files
That means forcing countries to install migration control procedures and accept deported individuals. We sought access to any discussion about these plans via freedom of information requests (FOIs).
In response, the EU Commission identified 11 documents—but withheld access to all of them.
We plan to appeal, and make this clear: If the EU is planning to coerce countries by withholding aid—just to push their agenda—the public deserves to know about it.