E.g., 02/26/2021
E.g., 02/26/2021

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.

A woman looks out over tents being used by migrants and asylum seekers on the Greek island of Lesvos
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.

Castle Square in Warsaw, Poland
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

asylum brief cover
Policy Briefs
June 2014
Strengthening Refugee Protection and Meeting Challenges: The European Union’s Next Steps on Asylum
By  Madeline Garlick
Reports
June 2014
A Work in Progress: Prospects for Upward Mobility Among New Immigrants in Germany
By  Nadia Granato
Books
May 2014
Migration of Health Workers: The WHO Code of Practice and the Global Economic Crisis
Future EU policy development on immigration and asylum
Policy Briefs
June 2014
Future EU Policy Development on Immigration and Asylum: Understanding the Challenge
By  Elizabeth Collett
Reports
May 2014
Moving Up the Ladder? Labor Market Outcomes in the United Kingdom amid Rising Immigration
By  Tommaso Frattini
Reports
May 2014
Slow Motion: The Labor Market Integration of New Immigrants in France
By  Patrick Simon and Elsa Steichen
Reports
May 2014
Supporting Immigrant Integration in Europe? Developing the Governance for Diaspora Engagement
By  Maria Vincenza Desiderio
Reports
April 2014
Catching Up: The Labor Market Outcomes of New Immigrants in Sweden
By  Pieter Bevelander and Nahikari Irastorza

Pages

Feature
February 1, 2004
Fewer Ethnic Germans Immigrating to Ancestral Homeland
The number of ethnic Germans born abroad who immigrated to their ancestral homeland in 2003 was much lower than the previous year, reports Veysel Oezcan of Humboldt University Berlin.
Feature
February 1, 2004
Belgium's Undocumented Hold Lessons for EU
Research by Marco Martiniello of the University of Liege and Andrea Rea of the Free University of Brussels casts light on how and why unauthorized immigrants arrive and stay in Belgium.
Feature
December 1, 2003
Austria Adopts More Restrictive Asylum Law
A new law passed by Austria could make it more difficult to seek asylum in Austria, according to Veysel Oezcan of Humboldt University Berlin.
Profile
December 1, 2003
Moldova Seeks Stability Amid Mass Emigration
Moldova is a small country facing huge emigration spurred mainly by economic hardships, according to Michael Jandl.
Profile
November 1, 2003
Hungary: Transit Country Between East and West

Judit Juhasz of examines the forces that have made Hungary into a sending, transit, and destination country for migration.

Pages

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Recent Activity

Policy Briefs
June 2014

Strengthening Refugee Protection and Meeting Challenges: The European Union’s Next Steps on Asylum

With the European Council meeting in late June 2014 to adopt strategic guidelines on asylum and migration policy, amid strains resulting from Syrian refugee migration and other flows, this MPI Europe policy brief identifies challenges and proposes a forward course. The brief recommends increased engagement by Member States in practical cooperation as a way to strengthen implementation and consolidation of existing EU laws and achieve more consistent asylum decision-making.

Reports
June 2014

A Work in Progress: Prospects for Upward Mobility Among New Immigrants in Germany

This report analyzes the labor market integration of newcomers to Germany, who tend to have different national origins and higher levels of education than earlier waves of migrants. These new immigrants have had varying levels of success in finding employment and transitioning into higher-skilled jobs.
Books
May, 2014

Migration of Health Workers: The WHO Code of Practice and the Global Economic Crisis

This edited volume from the World Health Organization (WHO), which includes chapters written by MPI researchers, examines country-level responses to the international movement of health-care workers, both before and after adoption of the WHO’s Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel.

Policy Briefs
June 2014

Future EU Policy Development on Immigration and Asylum: Understanding the Challenge

This MPI Europe policy brief, published with the European Council poised to articulate a new set of long-term objectives and priorities for action on migration and asylum policy, details the immigration and other challenges that policymakers confront and sets out the reasons for increasingly sclerotic policy development.

Reports
May 2014

Moving Up the Ladder? Labor Market Outcomes in the United Kingdom amid Rising Immigration

This report analyzes the labor market integration of recent immigrants to the United Kingdom. During the 2000s, a large influx of labor from Eastern European countries transformed the United Kingdom's immigrant population and labor market. The report finds that over time, these new arrivals showed some progress in moving out of the lowest-skilled jobs.
Reports
May 2014

Slow Motion: The Labor Market Integration of New Immigrants in France

This report analyzes how recent immigrants to France fare in the country's labor market over time. The research shows that new arrivals initially face a hostile labor market and ultimately improve their employment outcomes—but their process of labor market insertion and advancement is a slow one.
Reports
May 2014

Supporting Immigrant Integration in Europe? Developing the Governance for Diaspora Engagement

This report examines the complexity of immigrant integration governance in EU Member States, and offers detailed mapping of the origin-country institutions that are increasingly involved in integration-related activities. It explores how EU institutions can maximize opportunities for cooperation between origin and destination countries on integration governance.
Reports
April 2014

Catching Up: The Labor Market Outcomes of New Immigrants in Sweden

Many of Sweden's immigrants are refugees who lack the skills and education to gain employment soon after they arrive. Over time, however, newcomers to Sweden have improved their employment rates, displayed income growth similar to natives, and moved from low- to middle-skilled positions. This report assesses how new immigrants—refugees, labor migrants, and others—fare in Sweden's labor market.

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