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

July 2014

Advancing Outcomes for All Minorities: Experiences of Mainstreaming Immigrant Integration Policy in the United Kingdom

This report explores the accelerating trend in the United Kingdom of mainstreaming of immigrant integration, in which policymakers seek to reach people with a migration background through needs-based social programming and policies that also target the general population. The report has particular focus on policies and programs used in London and Glasgow.

Articles

July 24, 2014

Turkey’s Evolving Migration Identity

Turkey’s migration identity has shifted from being principally a country of emigration and transit to becoming a destination for immigrants and people fleeing conflict. In response, Turkish policymakers recently enacted a comprehensive migration and asylum law that took effect in April 2014. This article examines the new law, which is intended as a significant step toward managing both legal and irregular migration to Turkey, including humanitarian migration.

Reports

July 2014

Migration’s Local Dividends: How Cities and Regions Can Make the Most of Immigration (Transatlantic Council Statement)

While cities and regions experience both the positive and negative effects of immigration firsthand, they are typically at arm’s length, at best, from the policy reins that enable and shape these movements. Immigration policies are rarely calibrated to regional, let alone local, needs. This Transatlantic Council on Migration Statement examines how policymakers at all levels can work together to get more out of immigration.

Commentaries

July 2014

An EU Commissioner for Migration? The Devil is in the Details

In the coming weeks, the President-Elect of the European Commission and leaders of the European Union will discuss the new institutional map of the European Union, including new portfolios for the incoming college of Commissioners. Despite the fact that immigration is a critical challenge for the European Union, it has become harder for EU institutions to forge a strong policy. Perhaps as a result of this disconnect, one of the key ideas on the table is to create a Commissioner for Migration.

Reports

July 2014

Moving Up or Standing Still? Access to Middle-Skilled Work for Newly Arrived Migrants in the European Union

The global economic crisis and changing migration patterns in Europe bring up questions about how well immigrants are able to find employment and progress into better jobs over time. This overview report caps a series of six country case studies evaluating the employment outcomes for foreign-born workers during their first decade in the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

Commentaries

July 2014

The EU’s Strategic Guidelines on Migration: Uncontentious Consensus, But Missed Opportunity

The European Council's new strategic guidelines, which set the pathway for future policy development in the area of Justice and Home Affairs in the coming years, seem unfeasibly insulated from today's migration and asylum realities and challenges confronting the European Union. The draft represents a missed opportunity to lead EU heads of state forward on critical issues in this area, MPI Europe's Director writes in this commentary.

Audio, Webinars

June 18, 2014

Has EU Immigration and Asylum Policy Failed? Can It Ever Succeed?

This MPI Europe telebriefing, releasing the brief "Strengthening Refugee Protection and Meeting Challenges: The European Union’s Next Steps on Asylum," examines Europe's current reality with respect to migration and asylum and assesses the possibilities for future development of EU immigration policy.

Policy Briefs

June 2014

Strengthening Refugee Protection and Meeting Challenges: The European Union’s Next Steps on Asylum

With the European Council meeting in late June 2014 to adopt strategic guidelines on asylum and migration policy, amid strains resulting from Syrian refugee migration and other flows, this MPI Europe policy brief identifies challenges and proposes a forward course. The brief recommends increased engagement by Member States in practical cooperation as a way to strengthen implementation and consolidation of existing EU laws and achieve more consistent asylum decision-making.

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