E.g., 04/23/2024
E.g., 04/23/2024
Europe

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.

Recent Activity

Pages

coverthumb MPIe Asylum DublinReg
Reports
March 2015
By  Susan Fratzke
coverthumb SIRIUS EarlySchoolLeaving
Policy Briefs
February 2015
By  Ward Nouwen, Noel Clycq and Daniela Uličná
coverthumb SIRIUS No5
Policy Briefs
February 2015
By  Rafael Berger Sacramento
thumb DGOverviewPolicy2014
Reports
November 2014
By  Meghan Benton, Madeleine Sumption, Kristine Alsvik, Susan Fratzke, Christiane Kuptsch and Demetrios G. Papademetriou

Pages

BerlinSeesSyria ekvidi Flickr

Although long one of the world's top migrant destinations, only in the recent past has Germany come to acknowledge and adjust to its role as a country of immigration. Its welcoming approach—a relatively new development—has been put to the test amid massive humanitarian inflows beginning in 2015. This country profile examines Germany's history on immigration and highlights current and emerging debates.

RefugeeBoat BenWhite CAFOD

Movements of migrants and asylum seekers in the Mediterranean have shown to be highly fluid, adapting quickly to changing conditions at origin, transit, and destination. This article examines the shifts in flows across the three major Mediterranean routes since 2008 and the complex web of often interconnected factors underpinning these movements.

PolandRefugees DenisBocquet Flickr

While Poland held a generally positive opinion of immigration throughout the early 2000s, public attitudes toward refugees have shifted decidedly rightward since the onset of Europe's migration and refugee crisis. This article explores the complex, intersecting anxieties at play in Poland and the role of political rhetoric in stoking these sentiments

Prime Minister David Cameron speaking outside Number 10 Downing Street

Against a backdrop of anxieties about migration, the United Kingdom's government set a referendum for June 2016 on whether to withdraw from the European Union. This article explores the role played by migration in the decision to call the referendum, how immigration might influence the result, and finally the implications of both referendum outcomes (Leave and Remain) in terms of migration policy and regulation.

AbrilArmenianBookstoreBooth KentKanouse Flickr

The Armenian diaspora, which significantly exceeds the country's resident population, has played an instrumental role in Armenia's political and economic development since independence in 1991. Yet a picture emerges of divergent currents within the diaspora, often seen from above as a unified entity. Delve into differences in engagement among Armenia's "old" and "new" diasporas with this feature article.

Pages

_LampedusaMigrants
Audio
June 18, 2014

This MPI Europe telebriefing, releasing the brief "Strengthening Refugee Protection and Meeting Challenges: The European Union’s Next Steps on Asylum," examines Europe's current reality with respect to migration and asylum and assesses the possibilities for future development of EU immigration policy.

EventPH 2014.02.19 A Transatlantic Conversation Managing Migration in the Era of Mobility2
Video, Audio
February 19, 2014

This discussion explores how the 2014 Greek Presidency of the European Union and the United States can work to address the challenges of managing migration while meeting humanitarian obligations and nurturing economic growth.

IMG_2563_Crop
Video, Audio
December 12, 2013

This panel discussion focuses on the circulation of skilled immigrant professionals and the recognition of foreign qualifications in the United States and Europe.

MPI Europe event with five panelists at desk
Audio
November 20, 2013

This Migration Policy Institute Europe event, organized with the Bertelsmann Stiftung, entitled Effective Labour Migration Management: Creating Checks and Balances while Searching for Talent brought together experts, policymakers, and social partners involved in the management of labor migration to discuss the various options available to policymakers.

Tall UN building against blue sky
Audio
September 18, 2013

The Chair of the Global Forum on Migration and Development, along with the Special Advisor to the UN Special Representative for International Migration discuss what is expected from The UN High-Level Dialogue on Migration and Development in October 2013 and what impact it may have on the Global Forum on Migration and Development.

Pages

Recent Activity

Reports
December 2011

While policymakers are under increasing pressure to reduce illegal immigration, the estimated population of unauthorized immigrants in EU-15 countries has declined since 2002. European governments are collaborating on the management of their external borders, as this report details, discussing the detected and estimated scope of irregular migration in the European Union.

Policy Briefs
December 2011

Though contentious, regularization (referred to in the U.S. context as legalization) remains a frequently utilized policy tool to address the European Union’s unauthorized immigrant population. Since 1996, more than 5 million people have been regularized through a variety of methods, as this Insight details.

Articles

Europe's Schengen agreement eliminated border controls between 25 countries for over 400 million people. Schengen cooperation has come under intense pressure of late, however, and EU Member States are currently considering whether the rules under which it operates ought to be adjusted. Elizabeth Collett provides background and explains what the current debate means for the future of Schengen.

Books
November, 2011

This volume from MPI's Transatlantic Council on Migration aims to fill the analytical gap regarding the question of what greater global cooperation on governing the flow of international migrants could achieve. The book focuses on a set of fundamental questions: What are the key steps to building a better, more cooperative system of governance? What are the goals that can be achieved through greater international cooperation? And, most fundamentally, who (or what) is to be governed?

Reports
October 2011
This final report summarizes and reflects upon the key findings of the Improving EU and U.S. Immigration Systems: Learning from Experience comparative research project undertaken by MPI and the European University Institute through a grant from the European Commission.
Articles

The heated debate between supporters and detractors of multiculturalism has been made all the more salient by the recent attacks in Norway carried out by Anders Breivik in the name of cultural conservatism and the political rhetoric that characterizes popular right-wing parties in Europe's north. Irene Bloemraad of the University of California, Berkeley, sheds light on the various meanings of the term "multiculturalism" and provides insights on the effects of multicultural policies on immigrant integration.

Reports
September 2011

The impact of climate change as a driver of human migration is expected by many to dwarf all others. Still, certain frequently repeated forecasts of the number of people who stand to be displaced by climate change are not informed by a complete understanding of migration dynamics, as this report explains.

Reports
July 2011

European dominance in U.S. immigration flows has decreased significantly since World War II, a result of economic, demographic, and policy trends on both sides of the Atlantic. Today, migration from European Union Member States to the United States, while small, is characterized by a substantial numbers of European scientists, professionals, and businesspeople.

Pages