E.g., 04/18/2024
E.g., 04/18/2024
European Union

European Union

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In the European Union, enlargement, special arrangements for the expansion of the Schengen Area, and the gradual development of a stronger EU role in immigration have added new complexity to the policy landscape, leading to both new patterns of movement and new policies for governing immigration from outside of the European Union's 27 Member States. The research offered here focuses on migration policies, trends, and common challenges that affect Europe at a supranational level—from free movement to asylum policy and the management of EU borders.

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Commentaries

One Phase Closes for the New Pact on Migration and Asylum. Now Another Begins

The New Pact on Migration and Asylum agreed in December 2023 by EU Member States and the European Parliament after lengthy negotiation will, without a doubt, go down in history as a signal political accomplishment. But will it result in better management of migration and asylum systems in a complex era? The outcome will turn on implementation and communication, this MPI Europe commentary explains.

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Policy Briefs

What Role Could Digital Technologies Play in the New EU Pact on Migration and Asylum?

With EU migration systems under strain, many observers have high hopes that the New Pact on Migration and Asylum will be able to help Europe address pressing challenges. This policy brief explores how digital technologies could support the implementation of the pact, should it be approved, as well as areas where caution is merited.

Recent Activity

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Reports
March 2017
Improving the Labour Market Integration of Migrants and Refugees: Empowering Cities through Better Use of EU Instruments
By  Kate Hooper, Maria Vincenza Desiderio and Brian Salant
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Reports
March 2017
Strengthening Local Education Systems for Newly Arrived Adults and Children: Empowering Cities through Better Use of EU Instruments
By  Brian Salant and Meghan Benton
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Commentaries
February 2017
New EU Partnerships in North Africa: Potential to Backfire?
By  Elizabeth Collett
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Articles
December 20, 2016
Dawn of New Migration Reality Brings Focus on Borders, Returns, and Integration
By Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Susan Fratzke
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Articles
December 15, 2016
European Project Dealt a Blow with Brexit Vote and Challenges to Migration Management
By Kate Hooper
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Articles
December 13, 2016
As Publics Fear Loss of National Identity, Far-Right Populist Movements Gain Strength
By Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan
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Reports
November 2016
Towards a Whole-of-Society Approach to Receiving and Settling Newcomers in Europe
By  Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Meghan Benton
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Multimedia
October 26, 2016
Cooperation on Migration: The Role of the European Union in the Follow-Up to the UN Summit

Pages

Feature
June 1, 2006
Europe: Population and Migration in 2005

In Western Europe, every country has more people entering than leaving, and the same is true for many of the Central European countries that joined the European Union in 2004. Rainer Muenz of the Hamburg Institute of International Economics takes a detailed look at the latest European population data.

Top Ten
December 1, 2005
Challenges of Immigrant Integration: Muslims in Europe

Only recently have European politicians and public opinion leaders talked about the need to focus on the integration of immigrants and their children.

Top Ten
December 1, 2005
EU Disunion: Immigration in an Enlarged Europe

Only the UK, Ireland, and Sweden have allowed accession-state nationals to work without permits since May 1, 2004 — and hundreds of thousands from Eastern Europe have arrived.

Feature
October 1, 2005
Schengen and the Free Movement of People Across Europe

Schengen eliminated border controls between European countries, and established a common external border. MPI's Julia Gelatt explains the changes brought by Schengen and the effects Schengen has had on European border control, visa, and asylum policies.

Feature
October 1, 2005
Migrants in the Rural Economies of Greece and Southern Europe

With fewer natives working in agriculture in Southern Europe, migrants from the Balkans, Africa, and Asia are filling the gaps. Charalambos Kasimis of the Agricultural University of Athens reports.

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Recent Activity

Reports
March 2017

Improving the Labour Market Integration of Migrants and Refugees: Empowering Cities through Better Use of EU Instruments

Cities have played a significant role in addressing Europe’s migration crisis, including by helping migrants and refugees integrate successfully into the local labor market. This report identifies concrete actions that could be taken to better leverage European Union soft law, funding, and knowledge exchange mechanisms to support cities’ activities in this area and to deliver more effective services.

 

Reports
March 2017

Strengthening Local Education Systems for Newly Arrived Adults and Children: Empowering Cities through Better Use of EU Instruments

This MPI Europe report examines the challenges that cities across the European Union are facing when helping new arrivals access education and training, including limited funding and need for better monitoring of program outcomes. It also highlights innovative ways municipalities support newly arrived migrants as they enter the education system and local labor force, including two-generation and co-located services as well as "whole-place" approaches.

Commentaries
February 2017

New EU Partnerships in North Africa: Potential to Backfire?

Eager to emulate the success of an EU-Turkey deal that has helped sharply reduce crossings into Greece, the European Union is exploring similar partnerships with transit countries along the North African coastline. But as this commentary explores, these prospective deals with Libya and other governments may be built upon unstable foundations and come with inherent complexities, possible risks for North African partners, and moral and other hazards for the European Union.

Articles
December 20, 2016

Dawn of New Migration Reality Brings Focus on Borders, Returns, and Integration

As Europe begins to move beyond the overwhelming flows of asylum seekers and other migrants it experienced starting in 2015, policymakers are paying significant focus to integration coupled with stepped-up enforcement. 2016 saw a wave of policy innovations facilitating integration as well as returns and deterrence, but it remains to be seen whether Europe will be able to continue and scale up this work in 2017 and beyond, as this Top 10 article explores.

Articles
December 15, 2016

European Project Dealt a Blow with Brexit Vote and Challenges to Migration Management

The United Kingdom's stunning decision to leave the European Union in June 2016, intertwined with rising concerns over migration, marked a significant setback to key objectives of the European project, including the right to free movement. Amid growing euroskepticism across the continent, it remains to be seen if the European Union will be able to reassert leadership to address migration and other issues in 2017 and beyond.

Articles
December 13, 2016

As Publics Fear Loss of National Identity, Far-Right Populist Movements Gain Strength

The success of populist movements on both sides of the Atlantic in 2016, including Donald Trump's victory in the United States and the United Kingdom's vote to quit the European Union, have sparked an identity crisis in the West. Campaigns effectively tapped into the anxieties of voters who feel left behind by societal change and out-of-touch elites, while normalizing anti-immigrant rhetoric in mainstream discourse, as this Top 10 article explores.

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?

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