Research into the migration policies of five selected Mediterranean countries (three from the North – namely, Spain, France and Italy – and two from the South – Morocco and Egypt) was conducted as part of a broader international migratory study by nationally-based researchers in the field. The results of this inquiry were then outlined in five corresponding national reports, which were eventually collected into a Joint Migration Document to provide an in-depth look at the migration realities existing across the Mediterranean region.

Based on these findings, this report aims to contribute towards the current evolution in EU migration policy by offering an initial analysis of how these five Mediterranean countries are shaping the external dimension of their migration policies (the so-called “externalisation” of migration policies) and influencing relevant decisions, and thus policies, at the EMP level. In addition, it seeks to identify how this externalisation of national migration policies can be articulated within the present framework of multilateral relations between Europe and southern Mediterranean countries in the field of migration.