E.g., 04/23/2024
E.g., 04/23/2024
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

Multimedia
May 17, 2019
"Merit-Based" Immigration: Designing Successful Selection Systems
Flags from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania on display
Articles
May 8, 2019
Can Return Migration Revitalize the Baltics? Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania Engage Their Diasporas, with Mixed Results
By Ieva Birka
Canal in Amsterdam
Articles
May 1, 2019
Migration in the Netherlands: Rhetoric and Perceived Reality Challenge Dutch Tolerance
By Joanne van Selm
Preparing for the Unknown: Designing Effective Predeparture Orientation for Resettling Refugees
Reports
May 2019
Preparing for the Unknown: Designing Effective Predeparture Orientation for Resettling Refugees
By  Susan Fratzke and Lena Kainz
Four people stand with a sign at a demonstration
Articles
April 18, 2019
“Us” or “Them”? How Policies, Public Opinion, and Political Rhetoric Affect Immigrants’ Sense of Belonging
By Kristina Bakkær Simonsen
International vs. National Protection for Refugees Event - David Fitzgerald
Multimedia
April 10, 2019
International vs. National Protection for Refugees: Diverging Trends?
Reports
April 2019
Spain’s Labor Migration Policies in the Aftermath of Economic Crisis
By  Kate Hooper
Competing Approaches to Selecting Economic Immigrants: Points-Based vs. Demand-Driven Systems
Reports
April 2019
Competing Approaches to Selecting Economic Immigrants: Points-Based vs. Demand-Driven Systems
By  Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Kate Hooper

Pages

Cover ClemensSkilled
Policy Briefs
September 2013
What Do We Know About Skilled Migration and Development?
By  Michael Clemens
Cover HLD NewlandPlaza
Policy Briefs
September 2013
What We Know About Diasporas and Economic Development
By  Kathleen Newland and Sonia Plaza
Cover HLD Agunias
Policy Briefs
September 2013
What We Know: Regulating the Recruitment of Migrant Workers
By  Dovelyn Rannveig Mendoza
Cover HLD Hugo
Policy Briefs
September 2013
What We Know About Circular Migration and Enhanced Mobility
By  Graeme Hugo
cover Dixon
Reports
July 2013
Skills, Professional Regulation, and International Mobility in the Engineering Workforce
By  Matthew Dixon
cover HawthorneCRED
Reports
July 2013
Recognizing Foreign Qualifications: Emerging Global Trends
By  Lesleyanne Hawthorne
cover SumptionCredTHUMB
Reports
July 2013
Tackling Brain Waste: Strategies to Improve the Recognition of Immigrants’ Foreign Qualifications
By  Madeleine Sumption
cover Yevgeny
Books
July 2013
How Can Talent Abroad Induce Development at Home? Towards a Pragmatic Diaspora Agenda

Pages

Cover FE Offshore2014
Feature
October 16, 2014
Pushing Out the Boundaries of Humanitarian Screening with In-Country and Offshore Processing
Recent surges in the arrival of unauthorized migrants with possible humanitarian claims have prompted the United States and the European Union to consider in-country and offshore processing for some refugee and asylum applications. As this article explores, some of the questions raised about the feasibility of such programs include their consistency with humanitarian law and their effectiveness in reducing unwanted entries.
Cover FE Hmong2014
Feature
September 30, 2014
Belonging: The Resettlement Experiences of Hmong Refugees in Texas and Germany

Drawing on a case study of two Hmong refugee populations from Laos that were resettled in a major Texas city and a German village, this article explores the different approaches to immigrant integration found in the United States and Germany as well as the outcomes for the Hmong and their sense of belonging in their new communities.

Ankara
Feature
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.

source sweden riots
Feature
January 16, 2014
Assessing Immigrant Integration in Sweden after the May 2013 Riots
This article explores the underlying causes of the May 2013 riots across several Stockholm suburbs that have high proportions of foreign-born residents, and asks whether rapid increases in the size of Sweden's immigrant population or the government's integration efforts played a central role.
Top Ten
December 17, 2013
Is Europe Faltering in Addressing its Multiple Migration Challenges?

A number of interlocking concerns have emerged in recent months regarding the rights of mobile EU citizens, fueled in part by euroskeptic parties (such as the UK Independence Party), and more hard-line anti-immigration parties such as the Party for Freedom (PVV) in the Netherlands.

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Recent Activity

Video, Audio
February 5, 2021

A Way Forward on Migration Under the Portuguese Presidency of the European Union?

With Portugal assuming the EU Presidency in January 2021 and prioritizing progress on the EU Migration and Asylum Pact, this webinar features senior officials from the European Union, Germany (the last holder of the presidency), and Portugal to take stock of where conversations on the pact stand and Portugal’s plans for taking forward the negotiations. 

Articles
February 3, 2021

The Eurasian Economic Union: Repaving Central Asia’s Road to Russia?

In recent decades Russia has been increasingly reliant on Central Asian migrant workers. Those workers, in turn, have sent back remittances that have been crucial for their countries of origin. Since 2015, many of these ex-Soviet countries have come together in the Eurasian Economic Union to solidify their bonds and ease migrants' passage to Russia. This article explores the bloc and how it reflects Russia's role in the region.

Policy Briefs
February 2021

Rewiring Migrant Returns and Reintegration after the COVID-19 Shock

Migrant returns and reintegration have been the subject of intense international debate in recent years, and the COVID-19 pandemic has added an extra layer of complexity as millions of migrants have been expelled or returned voluntarily. This policy brief explores the effects of the pandemic on migrant returns, reception, and reintegration, and how countries of origin and destination can improve their policies and partnerships going forward, with a focus on sustainable reintegration.

Articles
January 7, 2021

Faith and Mental Health Help Shape the Integration of Muslim Refugees in Germany

Faith plays a significant role in the mental health and social integration of refugees and asylum seekers. Yet in Germany, concerns about Islam and migrants from Muslim-majority countries have complicated social cohesion efforts, particularly in the wake of the 2015-16 refugee and migration crisis.

Reports
November 2020

The Next Generation of Refugee Resettlement in Europe: Ambitions for the Future and How to Realize Them

In recent years, the European Union and some of its Member States have taken on a greater role in global refugee resettlement, expanding or launching new programs and experimenting with creative approaches to providing protection to those in need. This report looks ahead to how these efforts, investments, and lessons learned can be built upon, even in the face of the uncertainty brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Video, Audio, Webinars
November 18, 2020

Welfare States and Migration: How Will the Pandemic Reshape a Complex Relationship?

This MPI Europe webinar reflects on the implications of this current moment for European economies and societies and the role of immigration and immigrant integration policy, and highlight research from the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre on the fiscal and demographic impacts of migration.

Reports
November 2020

Building Welcome from the Ground up: European Small and Rural Communities Engaging in Refugee Resettlement

Small towns and rural areas within Europe have become more active in receiving resettled refugees in recent years. How is resettlement to these communities different compared to urban areas? And what can be done to make good on the promise of “rural welcoming”? This report explores these questions, drawing on interviews with resettled refugees and receiving-community members in Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, and Sweden.

Video, Audio, Webinars
November 9, 2020

The Post-Pandemic Ascent: The Role of Migration in Emerging from the Economic and Labor Market Turmoil

MPI and OECD experts discuss the impact of the coronavirus on migration and mobility systems, findings from OECD’s International Migration Outlook 2020, opportunities for innovation, what labor demands may emerge, and the role of migration in North America and Europe at this challenging point in history.

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