E.g., 01/28/2023
E.g., 01/28/2023
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 flow chart showing the steps of the policy cycle
Policy Briefs

Promoting Evidence-Informed Immigrant Integration Policymaking

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.

Image of women and young children from Ukraine arriving at train station in Bucharest
Commentaries

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.

Two women at a Sudanese community center rehabilitated by IOM and a local NGO
Policy Briefs

Embedding Reintegration Assistance for Returning Migrants in the Local Context: The Role of Referrals

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.

Recent Activity

PolishGirls rocketfuel Flickr
Articles
August 1, 2018
European Immigrants in the United States
By Elijah Alperin and Jeanne Batalova
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Reports
July 2018
A Needed Evidence Revolution: Using Cost-Benefit Analysis to Improve Refugee Integration Programming
By  Meghan Benton and Paul Diegert
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Reports
July 2018
The Impact of Populist Radical-Right Parties on Immigration Policy Agendas: A Look at the Netherlands
By  Tjitske Akkerman
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Reports
June 2018
The Growth of the Radical Right in Nordic Countries: Observations from the Past 20 Years
By  Anders Widfeldt
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Reports
June 2018
After the Storm: Learning from the EU Response to the Migration Crisis
By  Elizabeth Collett and Camille Le Coz
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Commentaries
June 2018
Europe Pushes to Outsource Asylum, Again
By  Elizabeth Collett and Susan Fratzke
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Commentaries
June 2018
Horst Seehofer’s Migration Plan for Germany: Another Nail in the Coffin of Europe’s Asylum System?
By  Hanne Beirens
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Commentaries
May 2018
The New EU Migration-Related Fund Masks Deeper Questions over Policy Aims
By  Kate Hooper

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Policy Briefs
February 2013
Facing 2020: Developing a New European Agenda for Immigration and Asylum Policy
By  Elizabeth Collett
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Books
November 2012
Rethinking National Identity in the Age of Migration
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Reports
September 2012
Parenting Behavior, Health, and Cognitive Development among Children in Black Immigrant Families: Comparing the United States and the United Kingdom
By  Margot Jackson
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Books
June 2012
Developing a Road Map for Engaging Diasporas in Development: A Handbook for Policymakers and Practitioners in Home and Host Countries
By  Dovelyn Rannveig Mendoza and Kathleen Newland
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Reports
May 2012
Building a British Model of Integration in an Era of Immigration: Policy Lessons for Government
By  Will Somerville and Shamit Saggar
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Reports
May 2012
The Relationship Between Immigration and Nativism in Europe and North America
By  Cas Mudde
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Reports
May 2012
French National Identity and Integration: Who Belongs to the National Community?
By  Patrick Simon
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Books
April 2012
Hoja de ruta para la participación de las diásporas en el desarrollo: Un manual para políticos y profesionales de los países de origen y de acogida
By  Dovelyn Rannveig Mendoza and Kathleen Newland

Pages

Top Ten
December 1, 2012
Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric Just One of Several Campaign Messages for Far-Right Parties

The electoral fortunes of far-right parties, a number of which campaigned using anti-immigrant messages, varied during 2012, with notable albeit small advances for Greece’s extremist Golden Dawn party. For the most part, however, extreme-right politicians continue to struggle to build sizeable support; and in Europe, the anti-immigration discourse has been overshadowed by anti-Brussels rhetoric and anger over high unemployment and austerity measures.

Top Ten
December 1, 2012
Migration Flows Rise, Diversify as Global Economy Stumbles Toward Recovery

Migration flows that were stalled for a period by the pronounced recession that began in 2008 have resumed to a number of OECD countries, including the United States where there appears to be a slight increase in Mexican migration for the first time in several years. More migrants seem to be choosing emerging economies, including Brazil, China, and South Africa, over traditional destinations.

Profile
November 15, 2012
Belgium: A Country of Permanent Immigration

Belgium is often overlooked as a country of immigration because of its size and its less known history of immigration. Yet over the last three decades Belgium has become a permanent country of settlement for many different types of migrants. Our updated Belgium profile delves into modern migration flows and policies in Belgium which are inching away from a piecemeal approach towards a well-needed, long-term strategy.

Profile
March 8, 2012
Greece: Illegal Immigration in the Midst of Crisis

Once known for large-scale emigration, Greece has become the main point of entry for unauthorized migrants heading toward Europe. The country must now — amid economic turmoil — grapple with issues related to its highly porous borders, mounting asylum applications, and inadequate immigrant-detention system.

Top Ten
December 1, 2011
Immigrant Detention under Scrutiny in Australia, United Kingdom, and United States

Public backlash against the detention systems of Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States mounted in 2011 with allegations of unacceptable living conditions, abuse, prolonged detention, and government waste.

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Recent Activity

Articles
August 1, 2018

European Immigrants in the United States

European immigrants in the United States have largely dwindled in number since 1960, after historically making up the bulk of immigration to the country. Today, immigrants from Eastern Europe account for the largest share of European arrivals, and Europeans overall are much older and more educated than the total foreign- and native-born populations. This article explores the data on Europeans in the United States.

Reports
July 2018

A Needed Evidence Revolution: Using Cost-Benefit Analysis to Improve Refugee Integration Programming

European countries have ramped up their investments in helping refugees find work and integrate into society. Yet little hard evidence exists of what programs and policies work best. This report proposes a new framework for thinking smartly about integration programming, using cost-benefit analysis to look beyond short-term, economic outcomes to also measure indirect benefits through a social-value concept.

Reports
July 2018

The Impact of Populist Radical-Right Parties on Immigration Policy Agendas: A Look at the Netherlands

While commentators proclaimed the 2017 Dutch election results a rebuff of radical-right populism, this report makes clear that electoral success is not the only way to influence policymaking. Taking the Netherlands as a case study, it examines how radical-right parties in Western Europe have shaped immigration policy agendas and outcomes by rewriting narratives and forcing mainstream parties further to the right.

Reports
June 2018

The Growth of the Radical Right in Nordic Countries: Observations from the Past 20 Years

Though hardly new to most Nordic countries, radical-right parties have grown in popular support and political power in recent years. This report analyzes the role immigration has played in their rise and recent electoral fortunes in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. It also examines the strategies other parties have adopted in an attempt to limit their growth.

Reports
June 2018

After the Storm: Learning from the EU Response to the Migration Crisis

As maritime arrivals climbed in 2015, EU policymakers struggled to mount a coordinated response. A range of ad hoc crisis-response tools emerged, but many officials worry that if another migration emergency were to hit Europe, the European Union may still be unprepared. This report traces the evolution of the EU response to the 2015–16 crisis and lays out recommendations to lock in progress and shore up weaknesses.

Commentaries
June 2018

Europe Pushes to Outsource Asylum, Again

European leaders have settled on a recurring proposition to address the ongoing political crisis on migration: the creation of asylum processing centers beyond EU borders. The plans championed by various EU leaders are diverse, the details fuzzy. What they have in common is a near-universal focus on shifting responsibility for dealing with refugees and migrants upstream, as this commentary examines.

Commentaries
June 2018

Horst Seehofer’s Migration Plan for Germany: Another Nail in the Coffin of Europe’s Asylum System?

Amid significant tensions over migration that could fracture Chancellor Angela Merkel's governing coalition, a new "migration master plan" set to be unveiled by Interior Minister Horst Seehofer reportedly involves turning asylum seekers back at German borders and refusing them entry. This commentary explores the potential implications of the proposal, which has prompted concern about the ramifications for the Common European Asylum System.

Commentaries
May 2018

The New EU Migration-Related Fund Masks Deeper Questions over Policy Aims

The European Commission has proposed an 89.5 billion-euro fund to combat irregular migration by investing heavily in countries outside the European Union. This commentary argues the ultimate aims of the policy remain obscure, and with some of the money to be drawn from development aid funds is certain to raise tensions between institutions with conflicting goals and mandates.

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