Europe is facing the latest in a series of mobility crises with increasing numbers of asylum seekers and migrants taking precarious journeys to reach the southern and southeastern borders of the European Union. The Italian government has embarked on a comprehensive search-and-rescue operation at sea—Mare Nostrum—to minimise the chance of fatalities in the short term, but has strenuously pleaded for support from other Member States and the European Commission to address both the situation at hand and discuss longer-term solutions.

This crisis comes at a critical juncture in the policymaking cycle, as the European Council will come together in June 2014 to agree upon Strategic Guidelines intended to set the tone and parameters for future policy-making in the area of Justice and Home Affairs. It is clear that ambitious commitments and serious investments will be needed to resolve what has become an intractable challenge for the region. But at a time when European Heads of State are chastened by the results of the European Parliament and starkly aware of public scepticism towards both the European Union and immigration, can real progress be made?

This MPI Europe telebriefing examines the realities of European policy on immigration and asylum thus far, the challenges that policymakers face in the coming months and years, and what possibilities exist for future reform and development of EU immigration policy. Is this the end of the road for European collaboration, or the beginnings of closer cooperation? The presenters, in a discussion moderated by Wall Street Journal reporter Matina Stevis, will outline the findings of a new MPI Europe policy brief written by Madeline Garlick that reflects on the challenges confronting the European Union and Member States with respect to asylum policymaking in the near term and beyond, as well as some of the opportunities ahead to improve the Common European Asylum System.

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