‘EU aid’ for migrant smugglers

THE European Union has been accused of paying African migrant smugglers thousands in an attempt to encourage them to quit the illegal trade and set up businesses.

According to the BBC’s Panorama programme, traffickers get up to £5,000 a time to move into new employment, such as training to become a mechanic, or help to set up a farm or shop.

An EU spokesman has denied any cash was given to individuals, but an unnamed EU official told the programme ex-smugglers were being given money via third parties and that the vetting system to decide who received help was ‘flawed’.

In one project, in Niger, the EU said it had ‘invested’ 687,000 euros or £605,000 in a pilot project designed to help former traffickers in the past 12 months alone.

The West African state is seen as the gateway to Libya and on to the Mediterranean for refugees.

This year there has been a fall in the number of migrants attempting to cross to Italy and this is largely due to the crackdown by the Niger government and the EU, who have handed more than £300million to the West African country to help them combat trafficking.

Panorama found that, until a few months ago, convoys of pick-up trucks packed with migrants would leave the city of Agadez, in Niger, to travel across the desert to the Libyan border.

But following the crackdown, huge numbers of trucks have been confiscated and for each one impounded there is a driver left without a livelihood.

Reporters from the BBC One programme were given access to a meeting, overseen by Nigerian and EU officials, where those claiming to be ex-people smugglers were lined up and selected for EU funding to launch businesses of their own choice.

It was claimed they can receive up to 6,000 euros, around £5,000, each.

Panorama: Africa’s Billion Pound Migrant Trail will be broadcast tonight at 8.30pm on BBC One.