MPI Europe

Policy Briefs

April 2024

Supporting Self-Sufficiency: Considerations for Refugees’ Transition out of Sponsorship and Complementary Pathways Programs

Iraqi and Swedish families paired in Sweden's community sponsorship program

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.

Reports

January 2024

Confronting Compassion Fatigue: Understanding the Arc of Public Support for Displaced Populations in Turkey, Colombia, and Europe

Young Syrian man and social worker in Turkey

Muse Mohammed/IOM

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.

Commentaries

December 2023

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

Image of EU and Member State flags flapping in wind

iStock.com/stormwatch153

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.

Policy Briefs

December 2023

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

European Union flag composed of binary code

iStock.com/BirgitKorber

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.

Policy Briefs

October 2023

Why Matching Matters: Improving Outcomes in Refugee Sponsorship and Complementary Pathways

Syrian refugee family in Argentina who were sponsored by a community group

IOM/Muse Mohammed

In community sponsorship and other programs that directly involve communities and individuals in supporting refugees’ arrival and integration, where and with whom refugees are matched matters a great deal. This policy brief explores the ongoing evolution of approaches taken to matching refugees with sponsors or receiving communities, highlighting innovations and opportunities for further improvements.

Policy Briefs

October 2023

From Safe Homes to Sponsors: Lessons from the Ukraine Hosting Response for Refugee Sponsorship Programs

Ukraine flag hanging from an apartment building in the Netherlands

Gert-Jan van Vliet/iStock.com

As millions of people fled Ukraine and sought safety in countries across Europe after Russia's 2022 invasion, community-led projects emerged to help newcomers find temporary housing in private homes. These hosting initiatives have helped quickly address a pressing housing need, fill gaps in official reception services, and engage communities in welcoming refugees. But they have also posed challenges, as this policy brief discusses.

Recent Activity

Multimedia October 22, 2020 COVID-19, the Withdrawal Agreement and Citizens' Rights: No Time to Waste	Commentaries October 2020 The EU Pact on Migration and Asylum—A Bold Move to Avoid the Abyss? By Hanne Beirens
Reports September 2020 Driving Migrant Inclusion through Social Innovation: Lessons for Cities in a Pandemic By Liam Patuzzi	Policy Briefs September 2020 Brexit on the Backburner: Citizens’ Rights and the Implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement in a Pandemic By Aliyyah Ahad and Monica Andriescu
Commentaries September 2020 Greece’s Moria Tragedy: The Crash Test for the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum By Hanne Beirens	Articles August 6, 2020 Once a Destination for Migrants, Post-Gaddafi Libya Has Gone from Transit Route to Containment By Katie Kuschminder
Commentaries August 2020 When Emergency Measures Become the Norm: Post-Coronavirus Prospects for the Schengen Zone By Hanne Beirens, Susan Fratzke and Lena Kainz	Multimedia July 10, 2020 Enhancing the Social and Economic Inclusion of Refugees through Local Development Strategies

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Reports November 2017 Beyond Transactional Deals: Building Lasting Migration Partnerships in the Mediterranean By Luca Lixi	Reports November 2017 Safe or Sorry? Prospects for Britons in the European Union after Brexit By Meghan Benton
Policy Briefs September 2017 Engaging Communities in Refugee Protection: The Potential of Private Sponsorship in Europe By Susan Fratzke	Reports September 2017 Tracing the Channels Refugees Use to Seek Protection in Europe By Susan Fratzke and Brian Salant
Reports June 2017 In Search of Common Values amid Large-Scale Immigrant Integration Pressures By Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan and Meghan Benton	Reports May 2017 Taking Stock of Refugee Resettlement: Policy Objectives, Practical Tradeoffs, and the Evidence Base By Hanne Beirens and Susan Fratzke
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	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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Flickr UNHCR Abdu finds his voice in Germany

Video, Audio

April 20, 2018

Making Every Encounter Count: Using Peer Support to Improve Refugee Resettlement

This webinar, featuring findings from an MPI Europe report, examines major challenges facing refugee resettlement peer-support projects in Europe and key lessons for Member States.

Video, Audio

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.

flickr welcome to the European Union Dimitar Nikolov 3776066660_0eba667667_z

Video, Audio

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.

2018.1.17 State of World on Migration Vitorino_Papademetriou_Collett web

Audio

January 18, 2018

The State of the World on Migration – Vitorino & Papademetriou Discuss Challenges, Opportunities Ahead

This MPI Europe discussion brings together two of the most experienced thinkers on migration policy— António Vitorino and Demetrios G. Papademetriou—to explore what will be needed over the next years to ensure that the properly managed movement of people remains an integral, positive force in the world.

Audio

November 16, 2017

Social Innovation for Refugee Inclusion: Maintaining Momentum and Creating Lasting Change

Following the arrival of large numbers of migrants and asylum seekers in Europe from 2015 onwards, many nontraditional actors—from tech start-ups to social enterprises—pioneered solutions to foster the social and economic inclusion of newcomers.

Recent Activity

Video, Audio, Webinars

October 22, 2020

COVID-19, the Withdrawal Agreement and Citizens' Rights: No Time to Waste

This webinar explores how governments’ implementation plans for the Brexit withdrawal agreement have been affected by COVID-19, and the potential implications for citizens’ rights at the end of the transition period and beyond. Among the topics covered: which mobile populations are most at risk at the intersection between Brexit and the pandemic, and what contingency measures might mitigate these vulnerabilities and keep timelines on track.

Commentaries

October 2020

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.

Reports

September 2020

Driving Migrant Inclusion through Social Innovation: Lessons for Cities in a Pandemic

Since COVID-19 hit cities across Europe, many have struggled with how to sustain support for migrant inclusion in a time of social-distancing orders and likely budget cuts. This report explores how municipalities and their partners used social innovation to meet the challenges of the 2015–16 spike in arrivals of asylum seekers and migrants, and how those experiences can help localities weather the pandemic and put communities at the center of recovery efforts.

Policy Briefs

September 2020

Brexit on the Backburner: Citizens’ Rights and the Implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement in a Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic hit just weeks after the United Kingdom formally left the European Union, delaying plans to implement the withdrawal agreement’s provisions on citizens’ rights. This policy brief assesses the progress countries have made in setting up systems to adjust the status of mobile EU and UK nationals, as well as steps countries can take to make up for lost time.

Commentaries

September 2020

Greece’s Moria Tragedy: The Crash Test for the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum

The fires that devastated the Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos have further raised the stakes for the soon-to-be unveiled EU Pact on Migration and Asylum. If Moria persists as a concept—with asylum seekers prevented from onward movement elsewhere in Europe—this becomes an integral pillar of future EU asylum practice, whatever is written on paper, as this commentary explores.

Articles

August 6, 2020

Once a Destination for Migrants, Post-Gaddafi Libya Has Gone from Transit Route to Containment

Libya was once a prized destination for workers from around the world. But after Muammar Gaddafi’s overthrow in 2011, the country became the transit point for hundreds of thousands of Europe-bound asylum seekers and other migrants. Following Libya's 2017 deal with Italy to detain and return migrants caught at sea—which was renewed in February 2020—migrants became trapped in an unstable country, facing harrowing realities, as this article explores.

Commentaries

August 2020

When Emergency Measures Become the Norm: Post-Coronavirus Prospects for the Schengen Zone

Most EU Member States closed their borders to travel from neighboring countries in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic. While internal borders in the Schengen zone largely reopened in time for summer holidays, there is a lingering sense they could snap shut anew. Though the reflexive introduction of border controls speaks to an inherent lack of trust between states, the 2015-16 migration crisis offers lessons on how to begin to rebuild trust, as this commentary explores.

Video, Audio, Webinars

July 10, 2020

Enhancing the Social and Economic Inclusion of Refugees through Local Development Strategies

This discussion explores how development and humanitarian actors in low- and middle-income countries can engage with local institutions to promote the social and economic inclusion of refugees and how this inclusion can enhance engagement with other traditionally marginalized groups.

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