MPI Europe
MPI Europe
Recent Activity
The ongoing chaos being seen in Southeast Europe, as countries grapple with massive inflows of asylum seekers from Syria, Iraq, and elsewhere have laid bare the unresolved dysfunctions of incomplete European Union systems, as this commentary from MPI Europe's director explains. The proposal for relocation of 160,000 asylum seekers and other announced measures are a necessary stopgap, but far from an enduring solution.
This teleconference, the first in a series from MPI Europe on the future of asylum policy in the European Union, focuses on the politics and mechanics of asylum seeker relocation and whether a recent contentious European Summit represents a new phase of intra-EU cooperation on asylum.
Covering the findings of the UPSTREAM project, this MPI Europe event explores how a coordinated approach to integration may create more effective and inclusive approaches to diversity across the policy-making spectrum.
Despite the broad appeal of the concept of "mainstreaming" in integration policy in Europe, few agree on its exact meaning. This report synthesizes the findings of the UPSTREAM project's country case studies, which examined the extent to which governments in France, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and the United Kingdom are employing mainstreaming to meet the needs of rapidly diversifying populations.
The limited knowledge base on migrants' decision-making and assessment of risk on the journey to Europe, as well as incomplete understanding of the organizational structures and political economies of smuggling networks, are hampering an effective response to unprecedented Mediterranean maritime crossings. This report, drawing from interviews with migrants, examines migrants’ decision-making processes, perceptions of risk, and access to information.
Much attention has focused recently on the possibility of the European Union establishing processing centers in North Africa or elsewhere to manage asylum seekers and migrants traveling to Europe, despite the fact no policy proposal is formally on the table. This commentary examines the opportunities and drawbacks of extraterritorial processing, and suggests the need for a well-informed discussion.
Despite the European Union's high expectations for effectively resolving migration-related challenges, it has become clear that the policy-making structure in place today does little to support this goal. This policy brief addresses the underlying mechanisms of policy development around migration and asylum and identifies areas where reform to EU institutions is needed.
The EU Pact on Migration and Asylum—A Bold Move to Avoid the Abyss?
The EU Pact on Migration and Asylum represents a last-gasp effort by European leaders to devise a plan that keeps all 27 countries at the table, at a time when growing numbers are refusing to accept asylum seekers under the existing redistribution mechanism. Can the pact’s concept of solidarity à la carte work? The pact may well be the last step before an abyss in which each country determines the fate of migrants and refugees, practically guaranteeing future conflict.
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