MPC suggestions for a Post-Stockholm Agenda on Mobility and Migration

The MPC is actively taking part in the debate on future priorities to be addressed by European policies in the field of mobility and migration. The Stockholm Programme, which framed Home Affairs policies from 2010 to 2014, will indeed soon come to an end and future policy orientations are being discussed. Within this framework, the MPC participated in the European Commission – DG Home Affairs consultation on ‘An open and safe Europe – what next?’, providing suggestions for a Post-Stockholm Agenda on Mobility and Migration. Professor Philippe Fargues, Director of the MPC, and Professor Philippe De Bruycker, Deputy Director of the MPC, were invited to present their positions at the Stakeholders Conference organised by the European Commission in Brussels on 29 and 30 January 2014.

MPC Contribution to DG Home Affairs consultation analyses the migration situation in the European Union and the challenges that will need to be addressed in the coming years – demographic decline, sustainability of welfare systems, ageing of skills, intra-EU mobility, EU preference, irregular migration, EU visa policy, integration, EU solidarity, etc. It proposes concrete measures to be included in guidelines in the areas of freedom, security and justice for the period 2014-19.

The MPC at the European Commission’s POLITICALLY.EU event on ‘Europe and Migration Policies’ in Naples, 31 March 2014

The MPC is the scientific partner to the Italian Representation of the European Commission in the upcoming POLITICALLY.EU event on ‘Europe and Migration Policies’, which will take place on 31 March 2014 in Naples, Italy.

This ‘national debate’ will focus on three topics: Migration and Demographic Change; Opportunities in the Mediterranean; and Integration and Citizenship. It aims to provide an opportunity for discussion at the national level between those responsible for defining a global strategy, those in charge of implementing policy frameworks, experts in the various fields of interest, and representatives of migrants.

The conclusions gathered during the debate will be brought to the attention of the Italian Government and the EU in order to contribute to the definition of a new European agenda for Home Affairs and the development of a consistent Italian strategy.

Contact: you@politically.eu

A new research project on the judicial control of detention of third-country nationals in the EU

The Migration Policy Centre is delighted to announce the start of the project CONTENTION (Control of Detention), co-funded by the European Union within the framework of the European Return Fund. CONTENTION will be implemented by the Migration Policy Centre (RSCAS, EUI) in partnership with the Odysseus Network (ULB - Université Libre de Bruxelles).

The main objective of the project is to inform, analyse, and compare EU Return Directive based judicial control of pre-removal detention of third-country nationals in 11 EU Member States (AT, BG, BE, CZ, DE, FR, IT, NL, SK, SI and UK), with a view to improving it, particularly as it relates to control of the length of detention. The identification and exchange of best practices among legal experts and practitioners in the field of return policy is one of the core objectives of the project. More generally, CONTENTION intends to launch the first basis for European networking between national judges hearing return cases and prepare the ground for further judicial cooperation and training of national judges in this field.

The project will hold its Kick-off meeting on 28 February and 1 March 2014 at the European University Institute in Florence. The meeting aims to bring together project participants, particularly judges and academic experts from 11 EU Member States as well as the members of the Scientific Committee and a representative from the European Commission, to debate the project’s concept note on the extent of judicial control of pre-removal detention in the EU, and to discuss the building blocks of the questionnaire which will serve as a basis for 11 national reports that will be written by project participants.

Call for contributions

On the occasion of the launch of the project CONTENTION, all LAWYERS and NGOs may contribute to the project by providing NATIONAL CASE-LAW (as from 2008) that relates to the interpretation and implementation of pre-removal detention in relation to articles 15 to 18 of the Return Directive (e.g. alternatives to detention, risk of absconding, lack of cooperation of a TCN, due diligence, etc.). The case-law should be sent by email at the following address: Geraldine.Renaudiere@EUI.eu and will be accepted until December 2014. It can be sent in your national language without translation. Decisions will be analysed and included in a database that will become publicly accessible.

The CONTENTION project is co-financed by the European Union.

Publication of a note on ‘Demography, Migration and Labour Market in Saudi Arabia’

The GLMM project analysed the issue of ‘Demography, Migration and Labour Market in Saudi Arabia’, in a note by Francoise De Bel-Air, researcher, consultant, and specialist of political demography in Arab countries.

Saudi Arabia is a prime destination and source of remittances from workers for many countries in Asia and the Arab world. As of mid-2013, expatriates made up 32 percent of the Kingdom’s population, most of them coming from South Asia. They accounted for 56.5 percent of the employed population and 89 percent of the private sector workforce. Since September 2011, and in spite of a spurt in foreign labour recruitment starting in the mid-2000s, a voluntary policy called Nitaqat aims at ‘Saudising’ the Kingdom’s workforce. The most recent data also shows the scale of the irregular migration phenomenon in Saudi Arabia: the amnesty campaign which started in April 2013 allowed 4.7 million foreign workers to regularise their status, while an ongoing crackdown on illegals forced one million to leave the Kingdom in 2013 alone, 547,000 of which were deported (as of November 30, 2013).

Upcoming workshops

GLMM is preparing two academic workshops, one within the framework of the Annual Gulf Research Meeting at the University of Cambridge (25-28 August 2014) and the other within the framework of the Middle East Studies Association (22-25 November 2014, Washington, DC).

The GLMM programme is conducted with the Gulf Research Centre (GRC) and financed by the Open Society Foundations (OSF).

Publication of an Umbrella paper laying down the conceptual framework of the project

The project "Researching third country nationals' integration as a three-way process. Immigrants, countries of emigration and countries of immigration as actors of integration"(INTERACT) has published an "Umbrella paper", laying down its conceptual framework. The research on migrant integration to date provides a detailed examination of individual and group processes of integration on one hand, and the actions of the countries of destination and their societies in this regard on the other. One aspect missing from the analyses has been the role of the countries and communities of origin in integration processes at the destination. The INTERACT project defines integration as a three-way, three-scale, and multidimensional process. Building on existing research, the INTERACT team investigates the impact of origin countries on the integration of migrants in the country of destination, by looking at policies, actors, and actions at both ends of migration. First, the paper examines overall approaches to integration in literature; then it presents existing research in nine areas of integration (i.e. labour market outcomes, education, political participation, civic participation, social interactions, access to nationality, language, religion, and residential integration) based on nine deeper analysis (INTERACT position papers). Finally, it identifies the gaps in research that INTERACT primary research can cover.

Upcoming Discussion Workshop on the General Inventory, 13-14 March 2014

On 13 and 14 March 2014 at the European University Institute (EUI) in Florence, the MISMES project is organising a workshop that will bring together the EUI and the European Training Foundation (ETF) project teams (a total of around 20 experts). Its aim will be to discuss the first draft of the General Inventory and its main conclusions on different categories of Migrant Support Measures from an Employment and Skills Perspective (MISMES), including the contextual factors affecting them. Policy implications for the Mobility Partnerships with EU neighbouring countries will be discussed, as well as the approach and methodology for the five MISMES country case studies to be carried out in the second phase of the study.

The General Inventory will identify more than twenty standard models of MISMES – from pre-departure training to migrant resource centers or skills transfers through temporary stay of qualified nationals – and analyze them with a comparative perspective, aiming to identify success factors and provide elements for assessing their cost-effectiveness and their impact on migrant workers’ labour market integration and skills utilization or enhancement.

The MISMES project is financed by the European Training Foundation (ETF).

Appointment of a Research Assistant - deadline for applications: 28/02/2014 (Ref. RSC 5/2014)

The Migration Policy Centre is currently looking for a Research Assistant to assist in MPC research according to his/her domain of competence.

The Research Assistant will also assist in MPC surveys and quantitative analyses, contribute to briefs, reports and articles, and participate in MPC seminars.

The initial contract period is up to 31/12/14, starting as soon as possible.

The deadline for applications is 28 February 2014.

For more information, please consult the full advertisement here.

Appointment of a Research Fellow - deadline for applications: 28/02/2014 (Ref. RSC 6/2014)

The Migration Policy Centre at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute, Florence, is currently looking for a Research Fellow to conduct research in the framework of MPC core programmes, according to his/her discipline and area of expertise.

The Research Fellow will publish research results in MPC series and external journals, participate in MPC seminars and lecture at the MPC summer school, approach research sponsors in his/her domain of competence, and contribute to the MPC development.

The initial contract period is up to 31/12/14, starting as soon as possible. The contract may be renewed annually.

The deadline for applications is 28 February 2014.

For more information, please consult the full advertisement here.

Appointment of a Research Assistant for the INTERACT project - deadline for applications: 03/03/2014 (Ref. RSC 8/2014)

The Migration Policy Centre at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, European University Institute, Florence, is currently looking for a Research Assistant within the framework of the INTERACT project.

The Research Assistant will participate in research within the framework of INTERACT, analyse a worldwide on-line qualitative survey, and support the MPC research team in developing advanced social research on migration in countries of origin and destination, according to priorities of the MPC.

The initial contract period is up to 19/12/2014, starting no later than 15/05/2014. The contract may be renewed according to the project length in the event that the project is extended in 2015.

The deadline for applications is 3 March 2014.

For more information, please consult the full advertisement here.