E.g., 04/20/2021
E.g., 04/20/2021
Europe

Europe

European Union
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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.

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Articles

Greece Struggles to Balance Competing Migration Demands

When he was elected prime minister in 2019, Kyriakos Mitsotakis promised what he called “strict but fair” reforms to secure Greece's borders and speed up transfers of asylum seekers crowding Aegean islands. Yet domestic and geopolitical tensions continued to roil the islands, later joined by a global pandemic, culminating in a fire that destroyed most of Lesvos's Moria refugee camp. This article examines Greece's efforts to strike a delicate balance on migration in a complex era.

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Reports

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.

Recent Activity

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Policy Briefs
March 2015
The Development of EU Policy on Immigration and Asylum: Rethinking Coordination and Leadership
By  Elizabeth Collett
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Reports
March 2015
Not Adding Up: The Fading Promise of Europe's Dublin System
By  Susan Fratzke
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Policy Briefs
February 2015
Understanding Transnational Dynamics in European Immigrant Integration Policy
By  Paul Clewett
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Reports
February 2015
Supporting Immigrant Integration in Europe: What Role for Origin Countries' Subnational Authorities?
By  Özge Bilgili and Ilire Agimi
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Policy Briefs
February 2015
Improving Migrants' Labour Market Integration in Europe from the Outset: A Cooperative Approach to Predeparture Measures
By  Maria Vincenza Desiderio and Kate Hooper
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Policy Briefs
February 2015
Reducing the Risk that Youth with a Migrant Background in Europe Will Leave School Early
By  Ward Nouwen, Noel Clycq and Daniela Uličná
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Policy Briefs
February 2015
Migrant Education and Community Inclusion: Examples of Good Practice
By  Rafael Berger Sacramento
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Articles
January 23, 2015
Children Left Behind: The Impact of Labor Migration in Moldova and Ukraine
By Liza Yanovich

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Reports
October 2003
Perceptions of Afghan Refugees
By  Joanne van Selm
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Reports
October 2003
The Feasibility of Setting Up Resettlement Schemes in EU Member States or at EU Level
By  Joanne van Selm, Erin Patrick, Tamara Woroby and Monica Matts
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Reports
October 2003
The Strategic Use of Resettlement
By  Joanne van Selm
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Policy Briefs
April 2003
Reconciling Refugee Protection and Security Concerns in Wartime: The Case of Iraq
By  Monette Zard and Erin Patrick
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Policy Briefs
September 2001
Background Paper on Immigration and National Security

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Profile
February 1, 2006
Latvia Looks West, But Legacy of Soviets Remains

Although this former Soviet republic joined the European Union in 2004, its main concern is its large ethnic Russian population. Tim Heleniak of the University of Maryland explains.

Profile
January 1, 2006
Caught Between East and West, Ukraine Struggles with Its Migration Policy

Since its independence in 1991, Ukraine has expanded immigration and emigration rights – but it has also become a neighbor of the expanded European Union, a crossroads for illegal migration, and fertile ground for human traffickers. Olena Malynovksa of the National Institute for International Security Problems in Kyiv reports.

Top Ten
December 1, 2005
Asylum Applications Drop Sharply

This year the asylum story was about a decrease in first-time applications - a 22 percent drop between 2003 and 2004 - in contrast to the rising numbers seen in the 1990s.

Top Ten
December 1, 2005
Extreme Measures: What Migrants Are Willing to Do to Get in and What Governments Will Do to Stop Them

With some countries narrowing their legal immigration channels, raising the bar for asylum, and increasing security measures at airports and land borders, migrants took unprecedented – and deadly – risks that captured headlines in 2005.

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.

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Recent Activity

Policy Briefs
March 2015

The Development of EU Policy on Immigration and Asylum: Rethinking Coordination and Leadership

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.

Reports
March 2015

Not Adding Up: The Fading Promise of Europe's Dublin System

The European Union's Dublin Regulation, the mechanism to assign responsibility to Member States for processing individual asylum claims, has been the subject of intense political debate since its inception. This report examines the key criticisms of the Dublin system on asylum, evaluates the potential of the recently adopted recast, and recommends topics for consideration during the scheduled 2016 review of the system.

Policy Briefs
February 2015

Understanding Transnational Dynamics in European Immigrant Integration Policy

In light of the recognition of the need for a new approach to immigrant integration policy in the European Union, policymakers and other actors are beginning to look at the role that origin countries can play in the integration process. This policy brief explores the transnational dynamics at work behind the scenes of integration policy, including wider sociopolitical factors in origin and destination countries.
Reports
February 2015

Supporting Immigrant Integration in Europe: What Role for Origin Countries' Subnational Authorities?

While a number of major migrant-sending countries like Morocco and Turkey have started to take an active role in the integration of their migrants abroad, the role of subnational authorities has been overshadowed by diaspora engagement initiatives at the national level. This report investigates how the activities of origin countries' regional and local institutions may improve the lives of emigrants to Member States of the European Union.
Policy Briefs
February 2015

Improving Migrants' Labour Market Integration in Europe from the Outset: A Cooperative Approach to Predeparture Measures

While there is growing consensus on the value of immigrant integration support prior to departure, such initiatives generally have not fully realized their potential. This policy brief reviews promising examples of predeparture measures for labor market integration in Europe that are jointly designed and/or run by origin- and destination-country actors, illustrating their potential to help effectively address some of the most stubborn obstacles to successful integration.
Policy Briefs
February 2015

Reducing the Risk that Youth with a Migrant Background in Europe Will Leave School Early

Youth of a migrant background are over-represented among those who leave school early in the European Union. This policy brief discusses empirical findings, theoretical insights, and promising measures that may inform further policy action to address the disproportionately high level of early school leaving among students with a migrant background, which results from socioeconomic and other factors.
Policy Briefs
February 2015

Migrant Education and Community Inclusion: Examples of Good Practice

A number of actors outside the formal educational context, including parents, peers, and other community members, can play an important role in the social and educational development of migrant children. This policy brief reviews current measures to promote the integration of migrant students around Europe, focusing on those initiatives that include the family and community as part of the educational process.
Articles
January 23, 2015

Children Left Behind: The Impact of Labor Migration in Moldova and Ukraine

In Moldova, 100,000 children have been left behind by migrant parents; in Ukraine, there are 200,000 such children. The scale of labor migration and impact of remittances on both economies have prompted Moldova and Ukraine to work with the European Union and international organizations to develop policies addressing the welfare of left-behind children. This article examines research on the effects of parental migration on children and the policy environment.

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