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.
One year into the vast Ukrainian displacement crisis sparked by Russia's invasion, European policymakers are having to confront the likelihood of prolonged stay for millions of Ukrainians and the prospect of new displacement. How can they juggle longer-term integration, first-reception services for new arrivals, and prepare Ukrainians for eventual return to rebuild their country? They will have to focus on multipronged policies and services, this commentary suggests.
While many policy areas have seen a revolution in how information is gathered, shared, and used to inform new policies and improve existing ones, immigrant integration has not kept pace. This policy brief explores why integration policy in Europe has not yet seen the development of a robust evidence culture and offers recommendations for creating an environment in which evidence-informed policymaking can flourish.
People displaced from Ukraine are finding work more rapidly in European countries than prior refugee cohorts. But uncertainty over how long they will stay, combined with hurdles such as language barriers, has meant many are prioritizing any job over the right job. This commentary examines how policymakers could address this waste of skills as they seek to fill pressing labor needs and facilitate deeper integration of the new arrivals.
The July 7, 2005, suicide bombings in London's transport system were carried out mainly by men born and raised in the United Kingdom. James Hampshire and Shamit Saggar of the University of Sussex explain how subsequent policy discussions are linking immigration issues to UK security concerns.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Far from establishing a workable long-term solution to address overwhelming flows of asylum seekers arriving in Greece, the EU-Turkey deal has many observers concerned about the significant legal and logistical hurdles standing in the way of implementation—let alone questions about whether the deal would ultimately work. MPI Europe director Elizabeth Collett explains the practical implications of the deal in this commentary.
Although in theory refugees are already eligible to move beyond the circumstances of their displacement through a variety of legal channels, in reality pathways are often blocked by practical, technical, and political obstacles. This report explores existing tools and innovative new ideas to open additional opportunities to refugees, whether in first-asylum countries or via migration elsewhere.
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.
This report examines Canada's implementation of Express Entry, a system designed to fast-track for legal immigration the skilled immigrants deemed most likely to achieve economic success and positive integration outcomes. With the European Union seeking ways to better attract global talent, the report explores how the expression of interest system could offer mechanisms to improve the management of highly skilled migration.
This report discusses Spain’s changing migration patterns in the wake of dramatic economic downturn, paying special attention to the effects of the emigration of young, native-born Spaniards. The report also focuses on policies geared toward engaging the increasing number of Spaniards abroad, finding that much of Spain's policy towards diasporas predates the 1980s.
This Transatlantic Council on Migration report describes how the migration of nationals between Germany and Turkey has developed over recent decades; examines the economic, social, and political factors behind this development; and discusses the policy implications and lessons that can be drawn.
MPI's Demetrios Papademetriou discusses the current policy responses to the refugee and migration crisis at EU and national levels, and possible options for dealing more effectively with the crisis and longer-term integration challenges.
Drawn by generous asylum policies and the region's welcoming reputation, hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers arrived in Scandinavia in 2015. As the unprecedented flow overwhelmed the asylum systems of Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Denmark, lawmakers began to recalibrate their policies, tightening asylum benefits in a number of significant ways, as this article explores.
Prolonged Ukrainian Displacement: An Uneasy Marriage of Reception, Integration, and Return Policies
One year into the vast Ukrainian displacement crisis sparked by Russia's invasion, European policymakers are having to confront the likelihood of prolonged stay for millions of Ukrainians and the prospect of new displacement. How can they juggle longer-term integration, first-reception services for new arrivals, and prepare Ukrainians for eventual return to rebuild their country? They will have to focus on multipronged policies and services, this commentary suggests.