The externalisation of EU migration governance: The Italy-Libya partnership and the limits of EU external action

The externalisation of migration governance has become one of the defining features of the European Union's response to migration in the Mediterranean over the past decade. Within this broader framework, the Italy–Libya partnership represents one of the most controversial and significant examples of the EU's strategy to manage migration beyond its external borders. This thesis investigates how the Italy–Libya migration partnership reflects the evolution of the European Union's external action, with particular attention to the relationship between EU institutions, Member States and third countries. The research adopts a qualitative legal and policy analysis based on primary sources, including EU treaties, policy documents, international agreements, official communications and relevant case law, complemented by an extensive review of the academic literature. The theoretical framework combines perspectives from European integration theories, particularly neofunctionalism, with the evolution of the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the establishment of the European External Action Service (EEAS), in order to contextualise the growing external dimension of EU migration governance. The analysis demonstrates that the externalisation of migration control has progressively transformed the nature of EU external action, increasingly blurring the distinction between migration management and foreign policy objectives. The Italy–Libya partnership illustrates how Member States continue to play a central role in shaping external migration policies, while simultaneously relying on EU financial, political and institutional instruments to pursue common objectives. Although this model has contributed to reducing irregular crossings along the Central Mediterranean route, it has also generated significant legal, political and ethical concerns, particularly regarding accountability, democratic oversight and compliance with international refugee and human rights law. The thesis argues that the Italy–Libya cooperation reflects the emergence of a hybrid model of EU external action in which national and supranational competences increasingly overlap. While externalisation has become a cornerstone of European migration governance, its implementation reveals persistent tensions between the Union's strategic interests in border management and its commitment to the protection of fundamental rights. Ultimately, the study contributes to the broader debate on the future of EU external action by highlighting the structural challenges and normative limits of outsourcing migration management to third countries.