On June 23, 2016, in what polling suggests will be a very close decision, UK citizens will decide whether the United Kingdom will remain part of the European Union (EU) or exit. The decision on the “Brexit” referendum will have enormous ramifications, in terms of trade, policy, and for the free movement of people and labor.
While there have been referenda on key issues in EU countries before, this is the first time that a major Member State has put full membership to the test. Yet for many European governments, Brexit is a second-tier issue, behind the refugee crisis, the rise of the populist far right, the aftermath of the 2008-09 recession, and security on the Eastern border. Nonetheless, if the United Kingdom decides to exit, it is highly likely that the broader European project will suffer, boosting Euroskepticism and spurring debates over EU membership in other countries.
MPI hosts a discussion exploring how the migration politics and policies of the UK government influenced the decision to hold the referendum, how it might influence the result, and how the referendum’s outcome could impact migration policy in the United Kingdom and the European Union more broadly.
The pressure brought by the recent mass influx of migrants and refugees to Europe has drawn attention to the need for systems to receive and house new arrivals that can adapt to unpredictable numbers, remain cost-efficient, and meet national and EU standards. But what does it take to set up and manage a reception system that can simultaneously meet the demands of flexibility, quality, and efficiency?
Michael Kegels, Fedasil Belgium’s Director of Operational Services and author of the recent MPI Europe report, Getting the Balance Right: Strengthening Asylum Reception Capacity at National and EU Levels, discusses how to devise a more responsive asylum reception system at national and EU levels that upholds common standards. He is joined by representatives from the Austrian Ministry of Interior and EASO to reflect on the practical challenges of meeting asylum-seeker reception demand, the prospects of greater cooperation, and the place of asylum reception policy at the heart of the Common European Asylum System.
Following the March 30, 2016 meeting of global leaders hosted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), MPI Europe convened a discussion to examine the outcomes of the conference, and provide an analysis of how states and civil society can work together to realize the intensifying calls for new pathways to support the safe and legal migration—and successful integration—of refugees in practice. Speakers consider what initiatives already exist to facilitate the legal mobility of refugee groups, and critically assess the potential and pitfalls that come with each. The discussion also examines new and creative ideas that have emerged in the wake of the Syria crisis.
As the migration crisis in Europe continues unabated and a deepening crisis in Syria unfolds, European policymakers are struggling to come to terms with two of the most urgent elements: making certain that 2016 is not just a repetition of 2015 (or worse) and finding the key to incorporating those among the 1.5 million migrants who will be allowed to stay (whether under some form of protection or simply because EU Member States find deportations “difficult”).
Freshly returned from several months working on the crisis from MPI Europe’s offices in Brussels, Demetrios G. Papademetriou provides a briefing on how the policy response to the crisis has unfolded at EU and national levels, and sketches an affirmative vision for what the short-, mid-, and long-term responses must be if Europe is to respond more effectively to the crisis and tackle the longer-term integration challenges.
As the European Union considers scaling up plans to resettle refugees from Turkey and other countries of first asylum to improve protection, as well as reduce pressures to travel illicitly, limit the power of criminal networks and develop more equitable responsibility sharing among EU Member States, speakers, including the author of a recent MPI report, will discuss their analysis on how private sponsorship programs for refugees could possibly enhance outcomes and spread costs.
Used by Canada, Australia, and a handful of other countries, as well as 15 of the 16 German länder, these programs permit private individuals, groups, corporations, and other entities to sponsor individual refugees for resettlement and accept financial responsibility for them for a period of time. Panelists explore how these programs, if implemented or expanded in EU countries, might provide an additional safe and orderly channel for refugees to gain protection and become one part of the broader solution that policymakers are seeking in response to the current crisis.
With uncontrolled migration to the European Union growing by leaps and bounds and asylum applications recorded by EU Member States at an all-time high, calls for ‘solidarity’ and increased support from the EU level for Member States under pressure have grown louder. In this webinar, MPI Europe President Demetrios Papademetriou and EASO Executive Director Rob Visser, the agency’s first director, had a candid discussion on the role EASO has played in its first five years and its potential for the future, along with what strategies Europe ought to be pursuing with regards to the current crisis.
Panelists Imelda Nicolas, Chairperson of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, Rana Hasan, the Director of the Development Economics and Indicators Division in the Economic Research and Regional Cooperation Department at ADB, Ong Keng Yong, Former Secretary General of ASEAN and Executive Deputy Chairman, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, and Demetrios G. Papademetriou, President Emeritus of MPI and President of MPI Europe, along with host Simon Long, “Banyan” Editor at The Economist, at the Bali Forum, convened by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Migration Policy Institute (MPI), discuss the progress that has been made toward genuine circulation of skilled workers within the ASEAN region. The conversation highlights the technical, institutional, and political challenges faced by greater mobility, how to overcome these challenges, and where coordinated regional action is most needed.
This discussion explored the tensions facing asylum systems in Europe and North America, and asked what tools governments have at their disposal to respond proactively to forced displacement and reduce its costs for refugees and host communities alike. Where and when should governments focus their protection investments to have the most impact? What actors and stakeholders need to be engaged, both within a government and internationally? What lessons can be drawn from responses to past asylum flows?
This Migration Policy Institute Europe public discussion explores how a coordinated approach to immigrant integration may create more effective and inclusive approaches to diversity across the policy-making spectrum. It also covers the findings of the UPSTREAM project, a multicountry study funded by the European Integration Fund that looks at the practice of mainstreaming in early childhood education, multilingual classrooms, antiracism, and equality strategies, and neighborhood and housing policy. Session 2, "Inclusive Urban Spaces," includes speakers Patrick Simon of the French National Institute of Demographic Research, Di Robinson of the Bristol City Council, Jean-François Fougnet of the Centre for Social Development, Clémentine Vooren of the Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, and Lorraine O’Deaof the U.K. Department for Communities and Local Government.
This Migration Policy Institute Europe public discussion explores how a coordinated approach to immigrant integration may create more effective and inclusive approaches to diversity across the policy-making spectrum. It also covers the findings of the UPSTREAM project, a multicountry study funded by the European Integration Fund that looks at the practice of mainstreaming in early childhood education, multilingual classrooms, antiracism, and equality strategies, and neighborhood and housing policy. Session 1, "Rethinking Public Services for a Diverse and Mobile Age," includes speakers Peter Scholten, Associate Professor of Public Policy and Politics at Erasmus University, and Elizabeth Collett, Director of Migration Policy Institute Europe.
This is the third and final panel from the day-long conference, "Better Work for Immigrants: Tackling Joblessness and Stunted Progression in the European Union," held in Brussels and organized by the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) Europe in collaboration with the International Labour Office (ILO) and the European Commission. The event concludes an MPI-ILO research project, funded by the European Commission, that examines employment prospects of foreign-born workers and the effectiveness of integration and workforce development policies in helping foreign-born workers overcome barriers and move up into middle-skilled positions in six case study countries: the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Read reports from the series here.
This is the second panel from the day-long conference, "Better Work for Immigrants: Tackling Joblessness and Stunted Progression in the European Union," held in Brussels and organized by the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) Europe in collaboration with the International Labour Office (ILO) and the European Commission. The event concludes an MPI-ILO research project, funded by the European Commission, that examines employment prospects of foreign-born workers and the effectiveness of integration and workforce development policies in helping foreign-born workers overcome barriers and move up into middle-skilled positions in six case study countries: the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Read reports from the series here.
This panel discussion opens the day-long conference, "Better Work for Immigrants: Tackling Joblessness and Stunted Progression in the European Union," held in Brussels and organized by the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) Europe in collaboration with the International Labour Office (ILO) and the European Commission. The event concludes an MPI-ILO research project, funded by the European Commission, that examines employment prospects of foreign-born workers and the effectiveness of integration and workforce development policies in helping foreign-born workers overcome barriers and move up into middle-skilled positions in six case study countries: the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Read reports from the series here.
This Migration Policy Institute Europe (MPI Europe) telebriefing examines the realities of European policy on immigration and asylum thus far, the challenges that policymakers face in the coming months and years, and what possibilities exist for future reform and development of EU immigration policy. Is this the end of the road for European collaboration, or the beginnings of closer cooperation? Participants include MPI Europe Director Elizabeth Collett, MPI Europe Fellow Madeline Garlick, and moderator Matina Stevis of the Wall Street Journal. The discussion outlines the findings of a new MPI Europe policy brief written by Madeline Garlick that reflects on the challenges confronting the European Union and Member States with respect to asylum policymaking in the near term and beyond, as well as some of the opportunities ahead to improve the Common European Asylum System.
To read the policy brief, click here.
This Migration Policy Institute Europe panel discussion, one of two at an event organized with the Bertelsmann Stiftung, entitled “Effective Labour Migration Management: Creating Checks and Balances while Searching for Talent,” assesses the extent to which current labour migration systems are tailored to the needs of businesses and, at the same time, are able to protect and foster the labour and social rights of both migrant and native workers. The session brings the social partners' perspective into the debate and includes a discussion of the regulations of intra-company transfers and of the challenges and opportunities for integrating labour mobility provisions into trade agreements. The session is moderated by MPI Europe Director Elizabeth Collett and features Constantino Fotakis, a former adviser to the European Commission’s DG Employment; Carsten von der Linden of the Boston Consulting Group; Pauline Mathewson of Fragomen Worldwide; and Marco Cilento of the European Trade Union Confederation.
This Migration Policy Institute Europe event, organized with the Bertelsmann Stiftung, entitled “Effective Labour Migration Management: Creating Checks and Balances while Searching for Talent” brought together experts, policymakers, and social partners involved in the management of labor migration to discuss the various options available to policymakers when trying to design an 'optimally balanced' labor migration policy. This panel was the first of two, and focused on key questions such as: how can policymakers strike a balance between integrating migrant workers with the right mix of skills to support economic growth and demographic sustainability, and reduce the cost of immigration for public budgets and the local labour market and society? Can governments minimise the costs of immigration by limiting either access or rights for lower-skilled migrants? And what needs to be done today to forge a fair deal on talent in the medium term? It also served as the Brussels launch of Martin Ruhs’ book, The Price of Rights: Regulating International Labour Migration. The session is moderated by MPI Senior Policy Analyst Madeleine Sumption and features author and Oxford University Lecturer Martin Ruhs, Bertelmann Stiftung’s Christal Morehouse, and Thomas Liebig, of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
