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

Articles October 18, 2018 After Revolution, Tunisian Migration Governance Has Changed. Has EU Policy? By Luca Lixi	Multimedia October 16, 2018 The Next Frontier in Immigrant Integration Policy? Using Behavioral Insights to Foster Social Cohesion
Multimedia October 3, 2018 Preparing Newcomers for the Jobs of Today and the Labor Markets of Tomorrow	Reports October 2018 Tech Jobs for Refugees: Assessing the Potential of Coding Schools for Refugee Integration in Germany By Ben Mason
Reports October 2018 Jobs in 2028: How Will Changing Labor Markets Affect Immigrant Integration in Europe? By Meghan Benton and Liam Patuzzi	Policy Briefs August 2018 Deciding Which Road to Take: Insights into How Migrants and Refugees in Greece Plan Onward Movement By Katie Kuschminder
Reports August 2018 Shifting Tides: Radical-Right Populism and Immigration Policy in Europe and the United States By Martin A. Schain	Articles August 1, 2018 European Immigrants in the United States By Elijah Alperin and Jeanne Batalova

Pages

Reports October 2011 Shared Challenges and Opportunities for EU and U.S. Immigration Policymakers By Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Madeleine Sumption	Reports September 2011 Climate Change and Migration Dynamics By Kathleen Newland
Reports July 2011 Scientists, Managers, and Tourists: The Changing Shape of European Mobility to the United States By Xiaochu Hu and Madeleine Sumption	Reports June 2011 Eight Policies to Boost the Economic Contribution of Employment-Based Immigration By Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Madeleine Sumption
Reports June 2011 Rethinking Points Systems and Employer-Selected Immigration By Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Madeleine Sumption	Reports June 2011 Emerging Transatlantic Security Dilemmas in Border Management By Elizabeth Collett
Reports June 2011 Opportunities for Transatlantic Cooperation on International Migration By Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Madeleine Sumption	Books June 2011 Migration and the Great Recession: The Transatlantic Experience

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Top Ten

December 1, 2011

Arab Spring and Fear of Migrant Surge Expose Rift in EU Immigration Policy Circles

The Arab Spring exposed critical weaknesses and exacerbated long-held disagreements within the European Union related to asylum, immigration, and external border control policy matters that spilled over into the operation of the Schengen area.

Feature

November 2, 2011

Faltering Movement: Explaining Europe's Schengen Struggle

Europe's Schengen agreement eliminated border controls between 25 countries for over 400 million people. Schengen cooperation has come under intense pressure of late, however, and EU Member States are currently considering whether the rules under which it operates ought to be adjusted. Elizabeth Collett provides background and explains what the current debate means for the future of Schengen.

Feature

September 22, 2011

The Debate Over Multiculturalism: Philosophy, Politics, and Policy

The heated debate between supporters and detractors of multiculturalism has been made all the more salient by the recent attacks in Norway carried out by Anders Breivik in the name of cultural conservatism and the political rhetoric that characterizes popular right-wing parties in Europe's north. Irene Bloemraad of the University of California, Berkeley, sheds light on the various meanings of the term "multiculturalism" and provides insights on the effects of multicultural policies on immigrant integration.

Feature

April 21, 2011

Free Movement in Europe: Past and Present

The European Union is an area of free movement that covers more than 4 million square kilometers and encompasses 27 countries. Saara Koikkalainen of the University of Lapland and the University of California-Davis discusses the history and current trends of free mobility in Europe.

Feature

March 23, 2011

Between Integration and Exclusion: Migrant Women in European Labor Markets

Women migrate to Europe for many reasons and through a variety of pathways. Utilizing research carried out for the FeMiPol project, Maria Kontos of the Institute for Social Research at Goethe University explores how various factors affect the social and labor market integration of migrant women in European countries.

Recent Activity

Reports

October 2021

How We Talk about Migration: The Link between Migration Narratives, Policy, and Power

As migration levels rise, societies are facing competing narratives about immigration. Often, there is dissonance between top-down narratives from political leaders and bottom-up narratives spread through personal and media engagement. This report explores positive and negative narratives around migration in Colombia, Lebanon, Morocco, Sweden, and the United States to determine the contexts in which some stick while others fail.

Commentaries

October 2021

As the United States Lifts Travel Restrictions, Its New Vaccination Requirements Could Shape the Future of Global Mobility

The U.S. decision to lift border restrictions for fully vaccinated international travelers represents the latest move by governments around the world to loosen COVID-19-era travel restrictions. Yet it underscores a major policy shift that has gone almost unnoticed: with vaccination moving from being a fast track to travel to becoming a required ticket. This raises significant equity and technical considerations, as this commentary explores.

Expert Q&A, Audio

October 13, 2021

Making Migration Policy in an Ever More Complex World

MPI co-founder Demetrios G. Papademetriou takes on many questions, including whether the role of think tanks has evolved over the last two decades, in this World of Migration conversation with MPI’s Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan. They also look ahead to the challenges that will dominate immigration policymaking in the years ahead.

Commentaries

October 2021

Labor Shortages during the Pandemic and Beyond: What Role Can Immigration Policy Play?

As European countries seek to revive their economies in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, acute labor shortages in a variety of sectors risk stopping the recovery in its tracks. This commentary explores why these shortages are emerging and how immigration policy can form one part of the broader strategy to meet labor market needs.

Video, Audio, Webinars

October 4, 2021

Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion (SI4RI): Sowing Innovation in the Cracks of Crisis

This virtual conference explores how the diverse landscape of partnerships, social enterprises, participatory models, and community-led initiatives spearheading social innovation for inclusion has fared during COVID-19. It also focuses on how this ecosystem can emerge strengthened from the pandemic, and be a vital force in addressing new humanitarian challenges.

Reports

September 2021

"Diversifying" Social Investment: European Welfare States and Immigrant Integration in the Wake of the COVID-19 Crisis

European countries’ responses to the pandemic have been extraordinary in scope and volume, and strengthened appreciation for the role of robust welfare programs in helping individuals and communities weather challenges. This report explores the case for using the crisis to more permanently rethink European welfare states and whether the social-investment approach could serve as a tool for post-pandemic recovery in diverse, immigrant-receiving societies.

Video, Audio, Webinars

September 14, 2021

How Will the Pandemic Reshape Public Health for Migrants?

With COVID-19 likely to significantly reshape health-care systems in Europe and worldwide, there is a window of opportunity to test new strategies to tackle longstanding migrant health disparities, and ensure that structural changes accommodate the complex needs of diverse populations.

Reports

September 2021

Healing the Gap: Building Inclusive Public-Health and Migrant Integration Systems in Europe

While the pandemic has had broad impacts across European societies, these have not been evenly felt. Many migrants and refugees have long faced health challenges, such as limited health-care eligibility and accessibility, and COVID-19 has threatened to deepen health disparities. This report explores how European countries have responded and what opportunities have emerged to tackle disparities in migrant health.

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