The Group of 20 major economies has recently turned its eyes on Africa. Its finance ministers have launched a "Compact with Africa", aiming to support economic development and strengthen relations with the continent. For Europe, Africa is particularly relevant because of its geographical proximity.
The G-20 and the European policy establishment have become more interested in Africa recently because of the fear of ever increasing migration inflows that are unpopular in domestic political debates. And indeed, irregular migration into the European Union, mostly by boat, has increased substantially since 2008. But this irregular migration is still only a fraction of total immigration, which is actually fairly stable at around 500,000 per year.
