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.

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.

Young Syrian man and social worker in Turkey

Reports

Confronting Compassion Fatigue: Understanding the Arc of Public Support for Displaced Populations in Turkey, Colombia, and Europe

Large-scale displacement can trigger instability and feelings of threat in refugee host countries. But in certain cases, it can also uncover deep wells of solidarity that create space for generous policy responses. This report explores factors that can foster and erode public support for forced migrants, drawing examples from attitudes towards Syrians in Turkey, Venezuelans in Colombia, and Ukrainians in Europe.

Recent Activity

Articles December 12, 2016 Crises with Links to Immigration Result in Divergent Policy Responses on Either Side of the Atlantic By Aliyyah Ahad and Liz Heimann	Articles December 8, 2016 Migrants and Smugglers Get Creative to Circumvent Immigration Enforcement By Caitlin Katsiaficas and Ariel G. Ruiz Soto
Articles December 7, 2016 New Actors Step Up to Help Shoulder Growing Refugee Burden, But System Slow to Adapt By Meghan Benton	Reports November 2016 Towards a Whole-of-Society Approach to Receiving and Settling Newcomers in Europe By Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Meghan Benton
Multimedia October 26, 2016 Cooperation on Migration: The Role of the European Union in the Follow-Up to the UN Summit	Multimedia October 27, 2016 Taming the Seas: Safety, Protection, and Attempts to Create Order in Maritime Migration Corridors
Reports October 2016 Digital Humanitarianism: How Tech Entrepreneurs Are Supporting Refugee Integration By Meghan Benton and Alex Glennie	Reports October 2016 Moving Beyond Crisis: Germany’s New Approaches to Integrating Refugees into the Labor Market By Victoria Rietig

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Reports September 2006 From A Zero-Sum to a Win-Win Scenario? Literature Review on Circular Migration By Dovelyn Rannveig Mendoza	Books May 2006 Europe and Its Immigrants in the 21st Century: A New Deal or a Continuing Dialogue of the Deaf?
Reports January 2006 The New 'Boat People': Ensuring Safety and Determining Status By Joanne van Selm and Betsy Cooper	Books October 2005 Managing Integration: The European Union’s Responsibilities Towards Immigrants
Policy Briefs September 2005 The 'Regularization' Option in Managing Illegal Migration More Effectively: A Comparative Perspective By Demetrios G. Papademetriou	Reports July 2004 Observations on Regularization and the Labor Market Performance of Unauthorized and Regularized Immigrants By Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Kevin O'Neil and Maia Jachimowicz
Policy Briefs May 2004 The Enlargement of an 'Area of Freedom, Security and Justice': Managing Migration in a European Union of 25 Members By Joanne van Selm	Reports March 2004 The EU as a Global Player in the Refugee Protection Regime By Joanne van Selm

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Profile

March 1, 2007

Immigration in Luxembourg: New Challenges for an Old Country

Luxembourg's stable, prosperous economy would not be possible without foreign workers, most of whom come from other EU countries. But this small country has also struggled to cope with asylum seekers from the former Yugoslavia and to integrate children of immigrants, as Serge Kollwelter explains.

Feature

January 1, 2007

EU Enlargement in 2007: No Warm Welcome for Labor Migrants

The addition of Romania and Bulgaria to the European Union means another round of anxieties about labor migrants. Catherine Drew and Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah of the Institute for Public Policy Research in London explain how this enlargement is different from the historic one in 2004 and why most EU Member States favor temporary restriction.

Top Ten

December 1, 2006

Good-bye Multiculturalism -- Hello Assimilation?

Multiculturalism was supposed to be the ideal middle ground where immigrants could adapt to a country's norms and values while maintaining their culture and traditions. Today, different countries are trying to find the right "mode" of conversation with immigrants and where within the society to have that conversation.

Top Ten

December 1, 2006

All about the Border

The border between the U.S. and Mexico and the water dividing Europe and North Africa continue to be the world's main fronts in the fight against illegal immigration.

Profile

November 1, 2006

Denmark: Integrating Immigrants into a Homogeneous Welfare State

As Ulf Hedetoft of Aalborg University and the Academy for Migration Studies in Denmark explains, the question of how to handle cultural and religious differences has come to dominate the Danish political agenda.

Recent Activity

Articles

December 12, 2016

Crises with Links to Immigration Result in Divergent Policy Responses on Either Side of the Atlantic

While Europe and the United States saw terror attacks in 2016 carried out by radicalized immigrants or members of the second generation, policy responses varied on either side of the Atlantic. The perceived security threat posed by refugees was the main concern in the United States. Meanwhile, European debates centered more on concerns over loss of control of migration flows and lack of social cohesion.

Articles

December 8, 2016

Migrants and Smugglers Get Creative to Circumvent Immigration Enforcement

Smugglers and migrants adapted their paths in light of changing conditions in 2016, including the construction of walls and closure of borders. Cuban and Haitian migrants increasingly chose to make their way to the United States through South and Central America rather than by sea. Meanwhile, migrant flows to Europe have splintered into a wider range of routes, seeking new openings through the Western Balkans.

Articles

December 7, 2016

New Actors Step Up to Help Shoulder Growing Refugee Burden, But System Slow to Adapt

2016 saw the emergence of a "whole-of-society" approach to the refugee crisis, with a number of new actors, including many from the private sector, engaging with humanitarian protection issues in creative ways. This engagement and the energy and diversity of these partners, in the tech sector and beyond, creates both opportunities and challenges for governments and more traditional civil-society organizations.

Reports

November 2016

Towards a Whole-of-Society Approach to Receiving and Settling Newcomers in Europe

With the seemingly endless flows of asylum seekers and migrants abated, at least for the present, Europe is now faced with the long-term and complex challenges of integration of these newcomers. This report examines the political, social, and economic contexts and immigration histories of European countries and how the current integration challenges are complicated by existing challenges of fragmentation and social unrest. Still, the authors find some cause for optimism.

Audio

October 26, 2016

Cooperation on Migration: The Role of the European Union in the Follow-Up to the UN Summit

One month ago, world leaders gathered at the United Nations for a summit to discuss movements of refugees and migrants, however the absence of concrete commitments in the resulting New York Declaration disappointed many observers and the slow progress on multilateral cooperation around migration has particular salience for the European Union, since the arrival of more than 1 million asylum seekers to Europe in 2015. This panel brings officials together from a range of institutions mandated to consider the future of cooperation, whether bilaterally, regionally, or at the global level, and asks: What is possible, what is desirable, and what is likely?

Video, Audio

October 27, 2016

Taming the Seas: Safety, Protection, and Attempts to Create Order in Maritime Migration Corridors

Marking the release of All at Sea: The Policy Challenges of Rescue, Interception, and Long-Term Response to Maritime Migration, this book discussion explores the different facets of maritime migration and the challenges governments, civil society, the private sector, and international organizations face in tackling this issue together. Presenters discuss the overwhelming Mediterranean crisis and movements across the Bay of Bengal/Andaman Sea, the Red Sea/Gulf of Aden, in the Caribbean, and the waters around Australia; and the particular challenges for policymakers in each of these cases.

Reports

October 2016

Digital Humanitarianism: How Tech Entrepreneurs Are Supporting Refugee Integration

Tech communities in Europe and North America have been spurred into action by the refugee crisis, developing apps and other tools that can be used along the journey, immediately upon arrival, and for longer-term integration into the host society. This report maps several types of emerging tools and considers how policymakers responsible for refugee integration might play a more active role in supporting the most promising.

Reports

October 2016

Moving Beyond Crisis: Germany’s New Approaches to Integrating Refugees into the Labor Market

A key question confronting German policymakers has been how to successfully integrate asylum seekers into the labor market after record numbers arrived in 2015. This report examines the challenges newcomers face in getting jobs at their skill level as well as accessing language and training courses. The report outlines the many integration initiatives created in Germany, and offers recommendations for greater effectiveness.

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