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.
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.
Although European programs to support returning migrants’ reintegration into the communities where they settle have expanded and improved in recent years, returning—at times after years away—is never easy. This policy brief looks at how reintegration programs can adapt the assistance they provide to the local context and connect returnees with longer-term support through referrals, and what it takes to make these referrals successful.
In search of a better life, thousands of Nigerian women have signed emigration "pacts" with smugglers before going to Europe, where they are coerced into prostitution. Jørgen Carling of the International Peace Research Institute in Oslo explains.
Over one million Roma, Europe’s largest ethnic minority, became EU citizens in May 2004 when eight former communist states joined the EU. But their second-class status persists, as Arno Tanner of the Finnish Directorate of Immigration explains.
Since the 1970s, Norway has become home to thousands of non-European immigrants and refugees. MPI's Betsy Cooper takes a detailed look at how the country seeks to control migration while keeping the door open to labor from an expanding Europe.
Denise Efionayi, Josef Martin Niederberger and Philippe Wanner of the Swiss Forum for Migration and Population Studies explain how Switzerland, with one of the highest percentages of foreigners in Europe, is responding to a variety of migration challenges.
European migration, once the driving force of U.S. immigration, has steadily declined over the last 50 years. In 2014, 4.8 million European immigrants accounted for 11 percent of the total foreign-born population, down from 75 percent in 1960. Discover key statistics on this population in this Spotlight article, including countries of origin, language proficiency, employment, and more.
A discussion on how governments and societies can retain their most valuable workers, turn emigration challenges into opportunities, and capture more of the potential benefits of emigration.
In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, Ireland has again experienced emigration flows on a much greater scale than most of its Western European counterparts. Unlike earlier outflows, however, a significant share of those leaving today are immigrants returning home or migrating elsewhere. The report also examines Ireland's diaspora engagement and return policies.
The digital era offers opportunities for cities to improve access and outreach to residents, including immigrants and minority groups, through online tools and apps. This feature article explores ditigal-inclusion strategies in "smart" cities New York, London, and Barcelona, as well as the creative use of new technologies in response to the European refugee crisis.
As flows of young migrant and refugee children increase on both sides of the Atlantic, the demands placed on education systems by newcomer students have never been greater. This commentary addresses the challenges school systems face in building teacher capacity to address the diverse linguistic, academic, and socioemotional needs for newly arrived youth, many of whom have experienced significant disruption.
In June 2015, MPI's National Center on Immigrant Integration Policy convened a symposium in Brussels bringing together policymakers, teacher educators, and researchers from the United States and Europe to explore the imperative of improving educational outcomes for students from migrant and language-minority backgrounds. This report synthesizes themes and central questions raised during the presentations and discussions.
While European countries struggle to manage the recent influx of refugees, many are separately facing a less visible trend: large numbers of talented residents leaving. This Council Statement from the Transatlantic Council on Migration's twelfth plenary meeting examines the new reality of emigration from middle- and high-income countries and identifies how governments can mitigate the costs of emigration and "brain drain."
This webinar examines the challenges facing educators and policymakers in Europe and the United States as they attempt to meet the needs of immigrant and refugee students who arrive during their middle and high school years.
Why the European Labor Market Integration of Displaced Ukrainians Is Defying Expectations
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.