E.g., 04/24/2024
E.g., 04/24/2024
Europe

Europe

European Union

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

Three men pose with guns
Articles
April 3, 2019
Foreign Fighters: Will Revoking Citizenship Mitigate the Threat?
By Meghan Benton and Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan
Coverthumb MPIE EUfunds migrationpolicy
Policy Briefs
March 2019
Money Wise: Improving How EU Funds Support Migration and Integration Policy Objectives
By  Hanne Beirens and Aliyyah Ahad
LOGO FOR WEB EVENT SIRI 2019 01 2425_si4ri_imi_18_550600x270dynamics
Multimedia
January 24, 2019
Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion: A Sense of Home
Exploring New Legal Migration Pathways: Lessons from Pilot Projects
Reports
February 2019
Exploring New Legal Migration Pathways: Lessons from Pilot Projects
By  Kate Hooper
Imagen en Acción flickr 5
Multimedia
January 25, 2019
Building the Foundations for Inclusion: What Does the Future Hold for Immigrant Integration in Europe?
Integration Futures Final Report
Reports
January 2019
Breaking New Ground: Ten Ideas to Revamp Integration Policy in Europe
By  Meghan Benton and Aliyyah Ahad
Coverthumb MPIE CommunicatingIntegration_Page_01
Reports
January 2019
Communicating Strategically about Immigrant Integration: Policymaker Perspectives
By  Aliyyah Ahad and Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan
Brexitcommentary2019
Commentaries
January 2019
Too Little, Too Late? Contingency Planning for UK Nationals in Case of a No-Deal Brexit
By  Meghan Benton and Aliyyah Ahad

Pages

Cover MPIEurope EnviroMigration
Policy Briefs
May 2013
Migration and Environmental Change: Assessing the Developing European Approach
By  Andrew Geddes and Will Somerville
Screen Shot 2013 04 23 at 4.09.54 PM
Reports
March 2013
Immigration and National Identity in Norway
By  Thomas Hylland Eriksen
MPIEurope FreeMovement Intg
Reports
March 2013
The Integration Needs of Mobile EU Citizens: Impediments and Opportunities
By  Elizabeth Collett
Cover_Arango
Reports
March 2013
Exceptional in Europe? Spain's Experience with Immigration and Integration
By  Joaquín Arango
Cover Germanycasestudy
Reports
March 2013
Identity and (Muslim) Integration in Germany
By  Naika Foroutan
Cover Kremer netherlands
Reports
March 2013
The Netherlands: From National Identity to Plural Identifications
By  Monique Kremer
cover facing2020
Policy Briefs
February 2013
Facing 2020: Developing a New European Agenda for Immigration and Asylum Policy
By  Elizabeth Collett
cover howfreeisfreemovement
Reports
February 2013
How Free Is Free Movement? Dynamics and Drivers of Mobility within the European Union
By  Meghan Benton and Milica Petrovic

Pages

Top Ten
December 10, 2013
Greece Confronts Golden Dawn As the Far Right Takes Aim at the European Union

The murder of an anti-fascist rapper in 2013 dealt a severe blow to Greece's extremist, virulently anti-immigrant political party Golden Dawn, whose popularity had been increasing (relatively unchecked) since 2010. The party, which rejects the neo-Nazi label that many have applied to it, provoked a national outcry in September after a party sympathizer confessed to killing Pavlos Fyssas.

Top Ten
December 10, 2013
Questions of Immigration Control Preoccupy Policymakers Worldwide as Mixed Flows of New Arrivals Continue, and in Some Cases, Surge

This year has seen greater focus by policymakers in countries around the world on the balance between two enduring, complex migration management imperatives: maintaining secure and credible borders while separating out unauthorized immigrants from the most vulnerable populations in need of humanitarian protection, particularly those seeking refuge from conflict and persecution.

Feature
September 4, 2013
Integrating Immigrant Youth: Transatlantic Perspectives

This article examines common challenges and factors influencing the development of local labor-market integration initiatives targeting immigrant youth, based on four city case studies conducted in the United States and the European Union.

Feature
June 28, 2013
Diasporas and Development in Post-Communist Eurasia

The region encompassing Central and Eastern Europe as well as the former Soviet Union is the source of a sizeable share of international migrants today, yet many of these countries' development efforts do not benefit from strong diaspora ties.

Feature
May 10, 2013
Integrating Europe's Muslim Minorities: Public Anxieties, Policy Responses

Muslim integration is one of the most contentious issues in the immigration debate in Europe, and one that gets to the heart of public anxieties about immigration. This article explores public perception toward Muslims in Western Europe and the array of integration policies that countries in the region have adopted during the past several years.

Pages

archive >

Recent Activity

Video, Audio, Webinars
May 24, 2017

Building an Evidence Base to Support Refugee Resettlement

Marking the release of an MPI Europe report commissioned as part of the EU-FRANK project, this webinar examines critical gaps in the research and evaluation of refugee resettlement programs and recommendations for improving evidence gathering and knowledge sharing between resettlement countries. 

Reports
May 2017

Taking Stock of Refugee Resettlement: Policy Objectives, Practical Tradeoffs, and the Evidence Base

With displacement at a record high, governments around the world are looking for ways to jumpstart, expand, or maximize the impact of their refugee resettlement programs. Yet the evidence base regarding the effectiveness of such programs is particularly thin. This report maps the gaps in knowledge that exist and identifies areas where further research could help inform policymakers' actions.

Articles
May 18, 2017

Russia: A Migration System with Soviet Roots

The history of dynamic migration flows throughout the Soviet Union pre- and post-collapse has significantly shaped the current migration reality in Russia. Even as borders have shifted and policies changed, inflows and outflows still occur mostly within the former Soviet space. As this article explores, Russia has worked in recent decades to strengthen its migration management system and update its residence and citizenship policies.

Articles
May 10, 2017

Strife Abroad, Responses at Home: Muslims in the West and Conflict Spillover

A number of high-profile terrorist attacks in the West have raised questions about why geopolitical events sometimes trigger strong, violent reactions in certain diaspora communities, but not in others. What could be behind this divergence in responses? This article examines how Muslim communities in London and Detroit have reacted to conflict abroad, as well as the factors that drive reactive conflict spillover.

Video, Audio, Webinars
April 12, 2017

Immigration and its Discontents: European Elections and Future Policy

Public anxiety about immigration and the fast pace of social change has reached a boiling point in many parts of Europe, contributing (in part) to the ascent of populist far-right parties. This discussion focuses on how the French election is unfolding, what we can learn from Brexit and the Dutch elections, and what these results portend (if anything) for the next round of political contests in Europe. Experts consider how governments can manage broader public concerns about rapid social change, economic opportunity, and security in ways that can reduce public anxiety over immigration and restore the public's trust. 

Commentaries
March 2017

A Game of Chess, Not Tennis: Unraveling the Rights and Status of “Brexpats”

As the process of removing the United Kingdom from the European Union gets underway, the rights of the 1.2 million UK citizens or “Brexpats” who have chosen to live in one of the 27 other EU countries have been largely overshadowed. This MPI Europe commentary explores some of the many complexities ahead in negotiating rights for these individuals in a post-Brexit world.

Commentaries
March 2017

The Dutch Elections: How to Lose and Still Shape the Direction of a Country—and Possibly a Continent?

The failure of Geert Wilders’ right-wing, anti-Islam Freedom Party (PVV) to become the top vote-getter in the Dutch parliamentary elections is being hailed as proof of the limits of anti-Muslim rhetoric and even the “waning” of the appeal of right-wing populism. But as this commentary explores, a closer reading leads one to a more nuanced interpretation of the results and the recognition that Wilders will remain a major force.

Articles
March 16, 2017

Straddling Two Worlds: Highly Skilled Migrants from Senegambia and Switzerland

In recent years, Switzerland has become a popular destination for highly skilled migrants, including from the Senegambia region of West Africa. Meanwhile, migration also flows the opposite way with Swiss migrants heading to Senegal and The Gambia. This article compares and contrasts the experiences of these migrants at destination as well as their motivations to migrate and attitudes toward remittances and citizenship.

Pages