Europe

Europe faces an interesting set of immigration challenges and opportunities: Demographic pressures as many European societies age, a lively and at times tense policy and political debate over questions of identity and immigrant integration, and a unique policy environment that has knit many European countries together with regards to free movement, the management of outer borders, asylum, and other immigration-related topics. MPI has long conducted research and analysis of European policy on topics ranging from labor mobility and border security to immigrant integration, citizenship, and foreign qualifications recognition, which can be found below.

Iraqi and Swedish families paired in Sweden's community sponsorship program

Policy Briefs

Supporting Self-Sufficiency: Considerations for Refugees’ Transition out of Sponsorship and Complementary Pathways Programs

As more countries launch refugee sponsorship and complementary pathways programs, planning for and supporting refugees’ transition out of these programs is essential. While often receiving less attention than other elements of program design, a clear transition plan can promote refugees’ self-sufficiency, social cohesion, and overall program sustainability. This MPI Europe issue brief explores common transition challenges as well as promising practices.

Image of female worker at the Boqueria market in Barcelona making a crepe

Commentaries

As Europe and the United States Face Similar Migration Challenges, Spain Can Act as a Bridge

Spain and the United States both receive their greatest number of immigrants from Latin America, and have worked collaboratively together on displacement crises and other migration issues. As shared immigration challenges dominate debate on both sides of the Atlantic, Spain can serve as a vital bridge in the policy conversation, this commentary notes.

Passengers wearing face masks at a UK airport

Reports

Coordination Breakdown: The Impacts of COVID-19 on Migration in Europe

The story of the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe is chiefly one of challenges to solidarity and coordination. Cross-border movement—even within Europe’s Schengen Area—ground to a halt, and countries took varied approaches to using travel measures in an attempt to slow the virus’s spread. This report explores the pandemic’s impacts on mobility to and within Europe, its challenges to European solidarity, and lessons for future public-health crises.

Recent Activity

Commentaries May 2022 The Ukrainian Conflict Could Be a Tipping Point for Refugee Protection By Meghan Benton and Andrew Selee	Reports May 2022 COVID-19 and the State of Global Mobility in 2021 By Meghan Benton, Samuel Davidoff-Gore, Jeanne Batalova, Lawrence Huang and Jie Zong
Multimedia May 4, 2022 Public Narratives on Refugees: Sustaining Solidarity in Times of Crisis	Articles May 5, 2022 France Reckons with Immigration Amid Reality of Rising Far Right By Ekrame Boubtane
Reports May 2022 From Fear to Solidarity: The Difficulty in Shifting Public Narratives about Refugees By Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan	Multimedia April 28, 2022 How Can Europe Address Its Labor Market Needs at a Time of Upheaval?
Reports April 2022 Destination-Country Policies to Foster Diaspora Engagement in Development By Kathleen Newland	Commentaries April 2022 The UK-Rwanda Agreement Represents Another Blow to Territorial Asylum By Hanne Beirens and Samuel Davidoff-Gore

Pages

Reports July 2019 Equipping Immigrant Selection Systems for a Changing World of Work (Transatlantic Council Statement) By Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Meghan Benton and Kate Hooper	Reports July 2019 Start-Up Visas: A Passport for Innovation and Growth? By Liam Patuzzi
Reports June 2019 Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion: From Bright Spots to System Change By Liam Patuzzi, Meghan Benton and Alexandra Embiricos	Reports May 2019 Preparing for the Unknown: Designing Effective Predeparture Orientation for Resettling Refugees By Susan Fratzke and Lena Kainz
Reports April 2019 Spain’s Labor Migration Policies in the Aftermath of Economic Crisis By Kate Hooper	Reports April 2019 Competing Approaches to Selecting Economic Immigrants: Points-Based vs. Demand-Driven Systems By Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Kate Hooper
Policy Briefs March 2019 Money Wise: Improving How EU Funds Support Migration and Integration Policy Objectives By Hanne Beirens and Aliyyah Ahad	Reports February 2019 Exploring New Legal Migration Pathways: Lessons from Pilot Projects By Kate Hooper

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Feature

May 1, 2020

Under Lockdown Amid COVID-19 Pandemic, Europe Feels the Pinch from Slowed Intra-EU Labor Mobility

Border closures and lockdowns amid the COVID-19 pandemic have put a chill on intra-EU labor mobility, most immediately with the difficulty for European farmers to gain access to much-needed seasonal workers and for health-care institutions to get care workers. This article explores how these workers, who often face difficult situations, may be more vulnerable now. It also takes on implications for intra-EU labor mobility post-pandemic.

AfricanUnionMinisterialConferenceonMigration

Feature

April 2, 2020

Africa Deepens its Approach to Migration Governance, But Are Policies Translating to Action?

While migration once was a lower-priority topic for African governments, the last decade has seen a deepening in governance. Policymakers have integrated migration into their national development strategies and mainstreamed it across policy domains such as health and education. The actions are promising on paper, yet questions remain about the extent to which they will translate to more effective migration management.

Feature

March 20, 2020

Amid an Unfolding Humanitarian Crisis in Syria, the European Union Faces the Perils of Devolving Migration Management to Turkey

The high-stakes gambit taken by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to allow tens of thousands of asylum seekers and migrants free movement to the Greek border demonstrated the fragility of the EU-Turkey deal and the European Union's broader approach to outsource migration management to third countries. This article examines the causes for the tensions, the EU approach to external partnerships, and a hardening European attitude towards unwanted arrivals.

Feature

March 11, 2020

As Governments Build Advanced Surveillance Systems to Push Borders Out, Will Travel and Migration Become Unequal for Some Groups?

As governments seek to push their borders out by amassing ever more data on travelers and migrants, their creation of increasingly complex border surveillance systems and use of risk-assessment technologies could ease mobility for some while rendering other groups immobile based on hypothetical risk profiles and decisions that are not publicly known and cannot be challenged, as this article explores.

Feature

November 14, 2019

Dependent on Remittances, Tajikistan’s Long-Term Prospects for Economic Growth and Poverty Reduction Remain Dim

More than 1 million Tajiks migrate to Russia every year—a sizeable outflow for a country of about 9 million people. These high levels of emigration have had major effects for Tajikistan, especially in the generation of remittances that help lift everyday Tajiks out of poverty but have also made the country increasingly dependent on Russia. This article explores challenges faced by Tajik migrants in Russia and the effects of emigration on Tajikistan’s economy and society.

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Audio

October 23, 2019

Legal Migration Pathways to Europe for Low- and Middle-Skilled Migrants

This event hosted by MPI Europe and the Research Unit of the Expert Council of German Foundations on Integration and Migration featured a discussion on research into legal migration pathways for work and training for low- and middle-skilled migrants.

flickr EUCivilProtectionHumanitarianAidOperations Refugee crisis in the Western Balkans

Video, Audio

July 15, 2019

On the Wrong Path? Protecting the European Union’s External Border in the Western Balkans

With thousands migrants potentially traveling through the Western Balkans this year, this MPI Europe webinar explores the implications of the buttressed EU border on the bloc’s neighbors, the migrants transiting these routes, and the local communities.

Video, Audio

May 17, 2019

"Merit-Based" Immigration: Designing Successful Selection Systems

With the U.S. administration calling for the United States to adopt a more “merit-based” immigrant selection system, this conversation focused on what policymakers should consider in designing—and managing—immigrant selection systems in a time of intense labor-market and demographic change.

International vs. National Protection for Refugees Event - David Fitzgerald

Video, Audio

April 10, 2019

International vs. National Protection for Refugees: Diverging Trends?

MPI's Kathleen Newland, Refugee Council USA's Mary Giovagnoli, and David Scott FitzGerald, author of Refuge beyond Reach, discuss how and why international and national responses to the rising challenge of refugee displacement are diverging.

Audio

January 25, 2019

Building the Foundations for Inclusion: What Does the Future Hold for Immigrant Integration in Europe?

This meeting highlighted lessons from MPI Europe’s flagship Integration Futures initiative, which seeks to develop creative and strategic approaches to addressing today’s most difficult and pressing integration challenges—and to better plan for those around the corner.

Recent Activity

Reports

July 2021

Solidarity in Isolation? Social Cohesion at a Time of Physical Distance

Being there for one another is a fundamental response to adversity, but what happens when in-person interactions are limited in the interest of public health? This report explores the pandemic’s effects on social cohesion in Europe and North America, including its impact on bonds between and within diverse groups, on immigrant integration programming, and on volunteering and other forms of solidarity. It underscores the importance of planning for an inclusive recovery.

Commentaries

June 2021

Lessons from Europe: The U.S. Opportunity to Rethink the Links Between Development Assistance and Migration

As the United States embarks on a new strategy to address the root causes of migration and displacement from Central America, there is much that it can learn from Europe's experience in linking up migration and development aid. This commentary examines the experience of the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF), drawing five key lessons directly applicable to the situation in Central America.

Commentaries

June 2021

Achieving the “Partnership” in the European Union’s Talent Partnerships

The European Commission marks a new chapter in EU cooperation on migration with third countries with the launch of its Talent Partnerships, which seek to combine mobility schemes for work or training with investments in third countries in related areas, such as vocational education and training. The success of these partnerships will hinge on the degree of support they can win from Member States, the private sector, and third countries.

Articles

June 3, 2021

Borderless Europe: Seven Decades of Free Movement

Between Brexit and COVID-19, Europe’s 31-country zone of free movement has been profoundly tested. Still, the area has constantly evolved over the last 70 years, to include new groups of individuals who can freely move for work, study, or leisure, as well as cover larger geographic areas. This article examines the history and challenges to free movement, a crowning success of the European project.

Video, Audio, Webinars

May 19, 2021

EU Strategy on Voluntary Return and Reintegration: Switching Perspectives?

In April 2021, the European Commission took a step toward the creation of a common EU return system, releasing its first Strategy on Voluntary Return and Reintegration. This MPI Europe event, marking the release of EU Strategy on Voluntary Return and Reintegration: Crafting a Road Map to Better Cooperation with Migrants’ Countries of Origin, examines origin- and destination-country policy priorities surrounding return, opportunities for cooperation, and possible next steps in policy development.

Policy Briefs

May 2021

EU Strategy on Voluntary Return and Reintegration: Crafting a Road Map to Better Cooperation with Migrants’ Countries of Origin

In its Strategy on Voluntary Return and Reintegration, the European Commission sets out principles to increase the number of voluntary returns, make the return process more dignified, and provide better support to returnees. To make good on these goals, EU countries will need to improve their cooperation with migrants’ countries of origin. This policy brief explores opportunities to build this cooperation.

Articles

May 6, 2021

Europe’s Tackling of ‘Root Causes’ of African Migration Has a Mixed Record

The European Union has tried to leverage development assistance to address root causes of migration from Africa, including poverty, instability, and conflict. The EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, unveiled in 2015, has supported more than 250 programs totaling nearly 5 billion euros across 26 countries, but has had only partial success addressing the underlying drivers of migration, as this article explains.

Commentaries

April 2021

European Strategy on Voluntary Return and Reintegration Advances Action within Bloc, Leaves More to Discuss with Countries of Migrant Origin

The European Commission's strategy on voluntary return and reintegration for migrants covers a lot of ground, including new coordination efforts across EU Member States. Yet one of its most significant developments is the recognition that countries of migrant origin must be consulted and play a key role in reintegration if these efforts are to be impactful and sustainable, as this commentary explains.

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