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

Reports March 2018 Cracked Foundation, Uncertain Future: Structural Weaknesses in the Common European Asylum System By Hanne Beirens	Reports November 2020 Immigration Data Matters By Jeanne Batalova, Andriy Shymonyak and Michelle Mittelstadt
Articles February 27, 2018 Newcomers in the North: Labor Market Integration of Refugees in Northern Europe By Patrick Joyce	Multimedia February 8, 2018 Can New Digital and Pedagogical Innovations Help Bridge Education Gaps for Migrant Children?
Reports February 2018 Mainstreaming 2.0: How Europe’s Education Systems Can Boost Migrant Inclusion By Aliyyah Ahad and Meghan Benton	Multimedia January 31, 2018 Migration in Europe: What Trends to Watch in 2018?
Reports February 2018 Designing Civic Education for Diverse Societies: Models, Tradeoffs, and Outcomes By Per Mouritsen and Astrid Jaeger	Articles January 30, 2018 Life After Trauma: The Mental-Health Needs of Asylum Seekers in Europe By Rocío Naranjo Sandalio

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Reports January 2010 Transatlantic Information Sharing: At a Crossroads By Rocco Bellanova, Susan Ginsburg, Paul De Hert and Hiroyuki Tanaka	Reports January 2010 The UK's New Europeans: Progress and Challenges Five Years After Accession By Madeleine Sumption and Will Somerville
Books January 2010 Migration, Public Opinion and Politics	Reports November 2009 The Binational Option: Meeting the Instructional Needs of Limited English Proficient Students By Aaron Terrazas and Michael Fix
Reports October 2009 The Evolution of German Media Coverage of Migration By Gualtiero Zambonini	Reports October 2009 Political Rhetoric in the Netherlands: Reframing Crises in the Media By Maarten Hajer and Wytske Versteeg
Reports October 2009 Future Immigration Patterns and Policies in the United Kingdom By Will Somerville	Reports October 2009 The Future of Migration and Integration Policy in Germany By Rita Süssmuth

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Feature

January 12, 2010

The European Union's Stockholm Program: Less Ambition on Immigration and Asylum, But More Detailed Plans

In its newest five-year "roadmap" for justice and home affairs policy, the European Union has made migration a priority area. But while the Stockholm program offers plenty of detail on issues like illegal migration and asylum, it offers few specifics as to the final goal. MPI's Elizabeth Collett analyzes the program's action points and looks at challenges facing its implementation.

Top Ten

December 1, 2009

Buyer's Remorse on Immigration Continues

The global recession has caused countries that once welcomed foreign workers by the tens and hundreds of thousands — particularly Spain — to rethink generous immigration policies as unemployment rates have risen.

Top Ten

December 1, 2009

Swiss Vote to Ban Minarets, Sparking International Criticism

Swiss voters strongly approved a popular initiative to ban the construction of minarets in Switzerland. Julie Schindall reports on reaction to the vote and explains how the Swiss system makes such lawmaking possible.

Feature

November 5, 2009

Pay to Go: Countries Offer Cash to Immigrants Willing to Pack Their Bags

Many countries relied on low-skilled immigrant workers during good times. But Japan, Spain, and the Czech Republic have recently introduced "pay-to-go" programs to reduce the number of unemployed immigrants. MPI's Kristen McCabe, Serena Yi-Ying Lin, and Hiroyuki Tanaka, and Piotr Plewa of the European University Institute examine these programs and the larger policy questions they raise.

Recent Activity

Reports

March 2018

Cracked Foundation, Uncertain Future: Structural Weaknesses in the Common European Asylum System

During the 2015–16 migration crisis, European asylum systems were stretched to a breaking point. Yet many of the structural issues that contributed to failures to register newcomers, insufficient reception capacity, and growing backlogs of asylum cases existed before—and many remain unresolved. This report critically evaluates Common European Asylum System legal and operational shortcomings at a time when reform is on the table.

Reports

November 2020

Immigration Data Matters

This useful online guide links users directly to the most credible, high-quality data on immigrants and immigration in the United States and internationally. The easy-to-use guide includes more than 250 data resources compiled by governmental and nongovernmental sources, covering topics ranging from population stock and flow numbers to statistics on enforcement, public opinion, religious affiliation, and much more.

Articles

February 27, 2018

Newcomers in the North: Labor Market Integration of Refugees in Northern Europe

After receiving more than 2 million asylum seekers in 2015-16, European countries are turning to the task of integrating the newcomers, including getting refugees into work. This article explores labor market integration of refugees in five Northern European countries—Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden—drawing key lessons for today from the experiences of earlier groups of humanitarian arrivals.

Video, Audio, Webinars

February 8, 2018

Can New Digital and Pedagogical Innovations Help Bridge Education Gaps for Migrant Children?

Amid the arrival of hundreds of thousands of children during the migration crisis in Europe, school systems are increasingly being called upon to find innovative ways to address growing diversity and support children with migrant backgrounds. This webinar offers lessons for integration and education policymakers to ensure the whole education workforce is equipped to support diverse learners and better realize the broader role schools play as integration actors.

Reports

February 2018

Mainstreaming 2.0: How Europe’s Education Systems Can Boost Migrant Inclusion

Rising numbers of young immigrants and refugees entering European schools following the 2015–16 migration crisis strained system capacity and injected new urgency into debates about how to support diverse learners and their families. This report examines the challenges facing European education systems and identifies key lessons to improve migrant inclusion in schools and integration more broadly.

Video, Audio, Webinars

January 31, 2018

Migration in Europe: What Trends to Watch in 2018?

Is 2018 the year that the European Union takes leadership on migration on the international stage, or where it focuses inwards on healing internal divisions and delivering on overdue migration and asylum system reforms? This webinar looks ahead at the major external and internal events affecting migration on the continent over the next year.

Reports

February 2018

Designing Civic Education for Diverse Societies: Models, Tradeoffs, and Outcomes

Across Europe, civic education programs are being asked to solve a range of social challenges—from dwindling political participation to the protection of immigrant and refugee youth from alienation and radicalization. While these challenges are shared across countries, the programs designed to address them vary considerably. This report explores differing models in Denmark, France, Germany, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

Articles

January 30, 2018

Life After Trauma: The Mental-Health Needs of Asylum Seekers in Europe

The mental health of asylum seekers has emerged as an important issue following the 2015-16 European migration and refugee crisis. Many asylum seekers suffer from depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and similar conditions—with implications not only for their well-being but also potentially for the outcomes of their claims and the integrity of the asylum system as a whole, as this article explores.

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