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

Europe

European Union

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.

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

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

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.

Image of female worker at the Boqueria market in Barcelona making a crepe
Commentaries

As Europe and the United States Face Similar Migration Challenges, Spain Can Act as a Bridge

Spain and the United States both receive their greatest number of immigrants from Latin America, and have worked collaboratively together on displacement crises and other migration issues. As shared immigration challenges dominate debate on both sides of the Atlantic, Spain can serve as a vital bridge in the policy conversation, this commentary notes.

Passengers wearing face masks at a UK airport
Reports

Coordination Breakdown: The Impacts of COVID-19 on Migration in Europe

The story of the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe is chiefly one of challenges to solidarity and coordination. Cross-border movement—even within Europe’s Schengen Area—ground to a halt, and countries took varied approaches to using travel measures in an attempt to slow the virus’s spread. This report explores the pandemic’s impacts on mobility to and within Europe, its challenges to European solidarity, and lessons for future public-health crises.

Recent Activity

Flickr UNHCR Abdu finds his voice in Germany
Multimedia
April 20, 2018
Making Every Encounter Count: Using Peer Support to Improve Refugee Resettlement
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Articles
April 18, 2018
Once Homogenous, Tiny Iceland Opens Its Doors to Immigrants
By Timothy Heleniak and Hjördis Rut Sigurjonsdottir
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Reports
April 2018
Next Steps: Implementing a Brexit Deal for UK Citizens Living in the EU-27
By  Meghan Benton, Aliyyah Ahad, Michaela Benson, Katherine Collins, Helen McCarthy and Karen O’Reilly
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Multimedia
April 12, 2018
Responding to Early Childhood Education and Care Needs of Children of Asylum Seekers and Refugees in Europe and North America
Multimedia
April 10, 2018
Family Immigration Policy and Trends: How the United States Compares to Other Countries
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Reports
April 2018
Responding to the ECEC Needs of Children of Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Europe and North America
By  Maki Park, Caitlin Katsiaficas and Margie McHugh
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Policy Briefs
April 2018
It’s Relative: A Crosscountry Comparison of Family-Migration Policies and Flows
By  Kate Hooper and Brian Salant
Scaling up Refugee Resettlement in Europe
Reports
March 2018
Scaling up Refugee Resettlement in Europe: The Role of Institutional Peer Support
By  Hanne Beirens and Aliyyah Ahad

Pages

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Books
November 2010
Diasporas: New Partners in Global Development Policy
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Books
November 2010
Prioritizing Integration
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Reports
November 2010
Voice After Exit: Diaspora Advocacy
By  Kathleen Newland
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Reports
October 2010
Migration and Immigrants Two Years after the Financial Collapse: Where Do We Stand?
By  Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Madeleine Sumption and Aaron Terrazas
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Reports
September 2010
Diaspora Philanthropy: Private Giving and Public Policy
By  Kathleen Newland, Aaron Terrazas and Roberto Munster
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Reports
September 2010
Heritage Tourism and Nostalgia Trade: A Diaspora Niche in the Development Landscape
By  Kathleen Newland and Carylanna Taylor
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Reports
August 2010
Connected through Service: Diaspora Volunteers and Global Development
By  Aaron Terrazas
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Reports
May 2010
Immigrant Integration: Priorities for the Next Decade (Transatlantic Council Statement)
By  Demetrios G. Papademetriou and Annette Heuser

Pages

Top Ten
December 2, 2010
Europe, Wary of Immigration and Immigrants, Reaches an Inflection Point

A number of events in 2010 across the continent, and particularly in places long seen as moderate, seem to indicate a larger shift away from openness.

Top Ten
December 2, 2010
When All Else Fails, Leave: Emigration from Europe's New Destinations on the Rise

Although non-Irish nationals, particularly those from Eastern Europe, led the exodus, Irish nationals now make up a sizeable proportion of those leaving, and Greece appears poised to become a net exporter of people as well.

Top Ten
December 2, 2010
Painful Cuts to Integration Budgets - Even in Places Committed to Immigrant Integration

There's no getting around the fact that integrating immigrants costs money. That explains why recession-battered European countries, as well as a number of U.S. states, made cuts to programs affecting immigrants in 2009 and again in 2010.

Feature
October 21, 2010
France's Expulsion of Roma Migrants: A Test Case for Europe

Europe's largest minority group has long faced discrimination, but France's deportation of Roma as part of its security policies has sparked criticism from the European Union and human rights groups. Kristi Severance explains how the situation has evolved in recent months, the relevant EU laws, and how Europe is likely to move forward.

Profile
September 1, 2010
EU Membership Highlights Poland's Migration Challenges

Since joining the European Union in 2004, Poland has experienced one of the largest emigration flows in its postwar history. But the country has also received thousands of immigrants and refugees, mainly from its eastern neighbors, and is just beginning to invest in immigrant integration. Krystyna Iglicka and Magdalena Ziolek-Skrzypczak look at all aspects of migration in Poland in this updated profile.

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Recent Activity

Video, Audio, Webinars
May 24, 2017

Building an Evidence Base to Support Refugee Resettlement

Marking the release of an MPI Europe report commissioned as part of the EU-FRANK project, this webinar examines critical gaps in the research and evaluation of refugee resettlement programs and recommendations for improving evidence gathering and knowledge sharing between resettlement countries. 

Reports
May 2017

Taking Stock of Refugee Resettlement: Policy Objectives, Practical Tradeoffs, and the Evidence Base

With displacement at a record high, governments around the world are looking for ways to jumpstart, expand, or maximize the impact of their refugee resettlement programs. Yet the evidence base regarding the effectiveness of such programs is particularly thin. This report maps the gaps in knowledge that exist and identifies areas where further research could help inform policymakers' actions.

Articles
May 18, 2017

Russia: A Migration System with Soviet Roots

The history of dynamic migration flows throughout the Soviet Union pre- and post-collapse has significantly shaped the current migration reality in Russia. Even as borders have shifted and policies changed, inflows and outflows still occur mostly within the former Soviet space. As this article explores, Russia has worked in recent decades to strengthen its migration management system and update its residence and citizenship policies.

Articles
May 10, 2017

Strife Abroad, Responses at Home: Muslims in the West and Conflict Spillover

A number of high-profile terrorist attacks in the West have raised questions about why geopolitical events sometimes trigger strong, violent reactions in certain diaspora communities, but not in others. What could be behind this divergence in responses? This article examines how Muslim communities in London and Detroit have reacted to conflict abroad, as well as the factors that drive reactive conflict spillover.

Video, Audio, Webinars
April 12, 2017

Immigration and its Discontents: European Elections and Future Policy

Public anxiety about immigration and the fast pace of social change has reached a boiling point in many parts of Europe, contributing (in part) to the ascent of populist far-right parties. This discussion focuses on how the French election is unfolding, what we can learn from Brexit and the Dutch elections, and what these results portend (if anything) for the next round of political contests in Europe. Experts consider how governments can manage broader public concerns about rapid social change, economic opportunity, and security in ways that can reduce public anxiety over immigration and restore the public's trust. 

Commentaries
March 2017

A Game of Chess, Not Tennis: Unraveling the Rights and Status of “Brexpats”

As the process of removing the United Kingdom from the European Union gets underway, the rights of the 1.2 million UK citizens or “Brexpats” who have chosen to live in one of the 27 other EU countries have been largely overshadowed. This MPI Europe commentary explores some of the many complexities ahead in negotiating rights for these individuals in a post-Brexit world.

Commentaries
March 2017

The Dutch Elections: How to Lose and Still Shape the Direction of a Country—and Possibly a Continent?

The failure of Geert Wilders’ right-wing, anti-Islam Freedom Party (PVV) to become the top vote-getter in the Dutch parliamentary elections is being hailed as proof of the limits of anti-Muslim rhetoric and even the “waning” of the appeal of right-wing populism. But as this commentary explores, a closer reading leads one to a more nuanced interpretation of the results and the recognition that Wilders will remain a major force.

Articles
March 16, 2017

Straddling Two Worlds: Highly Skilled Migrants from Senegambia and Switzerland

In recent years, Switzerland has become a popular destination for highly skilled migrants, including from the Senegambia region of West Africa. Meanwhile, migration also flows the opposite way with Swiss migrants heading to Senegal and The Gambia. This article compares and contrasts the experiences of these migrants at destination as well as their motivations to migrate and attitudes toward remittances and citizenship.

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