Migration and refugee movements in the Mediterranean countries have gained unprecedented momentum in recent months. The situation along migratory routes to Europe and within Europe itself is changing faster than ever before. Opinions of all kinds flourish, often without the necessary base of accurate, up-to-date information.

The MPC website on the migrant crisis aims to provide a mixed audience comprised of the media, policy-makers and politicians, migration stakeholders, and the academic community, with the facts needed to understand the course of events and make informed judgments. The website is enriched and updated on a weekly basis. It offers in one single place comprehensive, detailed, multidimensional and multi-sited information gathered from a wide variety of sources either opened or not to public access. It aims at providing the facts with a level of details that no other single source offers.

The website gathers all the relevant data (statistics, graphs, maps, legislations, documents from governments and other stakeholders, etc.), accompanied by analytical notes and policy briefs. It covers all the countries on the main migration routes to the EU, allowing comparison between EU and non-EU countries.

GLMM organised workshops in the Gulf Research Meeting, which is an annual meeting organised by the Gulf Research Centre in Cambridge (UK) and has become the most important global meeting where original papers are presented on all major aspects of the Gulf. On 24-27 August 2015, the GLMM organised the workshop “The Role of Legislation, Policies and Practices in Irregular Migration to the Gulf”, with support from Qatar University, within the framework of the sixth Gulf Research Meeting, in which 20 research papers were presented. The workshop directors were the Director of the MPC, Prof. Philippe Fargues, and Prof. Nasra Shah of Kuwait University. Its objective was to document the role of legislation, policies, and practices in enabling and sustaining irregular migration in the Gulf. The workshop, spanning three days, focused on all the six GCC countries through case studies of each country, as well as on the legislation, policies, and practices that initiate, and perpetuate irregular migration to the Gulf from the major sending countries such as India, Egypt, Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.

GLMM’s regularly publishes new papers, the most recent of which are:

• The Legal Framework of the Sponsorship Systems of the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries: a Comparative Examination by Maysa Zahra (published 19 November 2015)
• A Note on Syrian Refugees in the Gulf: Attempting to Assess Data and Policies by Françoise De Bel-Air (published 19 November 2015)
• Addressing Irregular Migration in the Gulf States by Philippe Fargues, Françoise De Bel-Air, Nasra M. Shah (published 26 October 2015)

For full information about the project: http://gulfmigration.eu/.

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

The main output of the DEMO: India-EU MaP project has been the publication of a series of reports:

• The Indian community in German media reports, by Daniel F. Schulz
• A content analysis of media reports on the Indian community in Finland, by Liina Mustonen
• Report on the media representation of the Indian community in Cyprus: a case of invisibility, by Vera Pavlou
• India-related labour issues in the Gulf November 2013 to January 2015, by N. Janardhan
• Portrayals of Indian immigrants in the Greek media, by Despina Karamperidou
• Media portrayal of the Indian community in Spain, by Alcalde Fernández
• Media Report on the Indian community in France, by Mathilde Lebrand
• Media content analysis of the Indian community in Switzerland, by Ivan Obadić
• Indian retailing entrepreneurs: an analysis of migrant entrepreneurship in the Spanish market for retail payment services, by Iñigo Moré Martinez
• Media case study on Italy, by Elena Borghi
• Media portrayals of the Indian community in the UK, by Neha Sinha

The REDIAL project, co-funded by the European Union and coordinated by the MPC, in cooperation with the Centre for Judicial Cooperation (CJC) and The Odysseus Academic Network, intends to facilitate a horizontal judicial dialogue among judges involved in return procedures of illegal migrants. Through the creation of a Judicial Network covering all Member States in which the Return Directive (2008/115/EC) is applicable, such a dialogue contributes to cross-fertilisation of relevant national and European case-law, and also to an increase in legitimacy of judicial review of return decisions.

Within this context, the first thematic workshop of the project was held in Florence on the 2nd and 3rd of October 2015 and gathered judges from 19 Member States, specialised professors, researchers and legal experts working on return and migration law at both European and national level. Based on the national-case law DATABASE and the European Synthesis report, participants had the opportunity to discuss and debate the key issues and legal concepts covered by the first package of the Directive’s provisions, namely the termination of illegal stay. As a follow-up to this first meeting, an open-access website (euredial.eu) has been created and an Electronic Journal on Judicial Interactions and Return Policy is going to be published online.

A second thematic workshop will be held in Brussels from 14 to 16 April 2015.

The REDIAL project is co-funded by the European Union under the European Return Fund.
REDIAL partners: the ODYSSEUS Network – ULB and the Centre for Judicial Cooperation

In September, the European Training Foundation published the seven reports produced by the Migration Policy Centre in in the framework of the joint ETF/MPC MISMES Project (Migrant Support Measures from an Employment and Skills Perspectives) MISMES Project (Migrant Support Measures from an Employment and Skills Perspectives). The Global Inventory and the five country case studies on Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Morocco and Tunisia were presented and discussed at an international conference organized by ETF in Brussels on the 15-16 September under the title “Skills Dimension of Migration: Perspectives from the ETF Partner Countries’. The agenda and the sessions of the conference can be watched at http://livestream.com/un/events/4337916).

Philippe Fargues, Director of the MPC, and Alessandra Venturini, Deputy Director of the MPC, participated in the conference.

The MISMES publications can be downloaded from the MISMES project webpage.

The MISMES project was financed by the European Training Foundation.

On 15-17 June, the European Commission organised in Bangkok, Thailand, a three-day regional training workshop on “EU external cooperation in migration and asylum in Asia” facilitated by Iván Martín, Part-time Professor at the MPC. The workshop was addressed to EU officers in charge of migration issues and projects in EU Delegations throughout Asia. It was held in the framework of the ETEM V Project (External Thematic Expertise on migration to the European Commission), implemented by the Migration Policy Centre in the framework of a consortium led by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

A similar ETEM V regional workshop, equally facililtated by Prof. Iván Martín, was held in Dakar, Senegal, on the 15-17 September. Finally, a training workshop on “EU External Cooperation in Migration and Asylum and the European Agenda on Migration” took place in Brussels on the 18-20 November. The workshop, addressed ad DG DEVCO officers (country desk officers, programme managers and some officers from EU Delegations in Sub-Saharan Africa), was jointly facilitated by MPC Director, Prof. Philipe Fargues, and by Prof.ñ Iván Martín.

The ETEM V project, led by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in partnership with the MPC is financed by the European Union.

The MPC is delighted to announce the publication of ‘Migration from North Africa and the Middle East: Skilled Migrants, Development and Globalisation’, edited by its Director Prof. Philippe Fargues and Deputy-Director Prof. Alessandra Venturini, with the publishing house I.B. Tauris. The publication is available to buy from the publisher’s website: www.ibtauris.com.

The publication provides the essential companion for social scientists, policy-makers and development scholars, containing a series of thematic overviews of highly-skilled emigration from the Arab countries. Crucial to the development of the world economy, these regions play a key part in the recent socio-political transformations that have occurred across the world; and yet despite this, uncoordinated legal and policy frameworks continue to confuse the issue of skilled migration. Migration from North Africa and the Middle East: Skilled Migrants, Development and Globalisation focuses on the ‘brain drain’, and its impact, in an important contribution from leading experts.

The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs of the European Parliament (LIBE Committee) published in September a Study elaborated by the Migration Policy Centre on Exploring New Avenues for Legislation for Labour Migration to the European Union. The Study is a contribution to the discussion over the European Agenda on Migration and has been commissioned in the context of the ongoing LIBE Committee work on the Strategic own-initiative report on the situation in the Mediterranean and the need for a holistic EU approach to migration. It reviews the social and economic context of EU international labour migration policy, including labour needs in Europe, the status of relevant EU legislation and the available policy options from a comprehensive labour market perspective.

The following new Policy Briefs were published in the second half of 2015 by members of the MPC:

• The smuggler: hero or felon?, by Luigi Achilli (June 2015)
• Migrant and Native Interaction: Labor Market and Marriage Market, by Alessandra Venturini and Daniele Vignoli (November 2015)

The following new MPC/RSCAS Working Papers were published in the second half of 2015:

• Do native and migrant workers contribute to innovation? Patents dynamic in France, Germany and the UK, by Claudio Fassio, Fabio Montobbio, Alessandra Venturini (June 2015)
• Human resources and innovation: total factor productivity and foreign human capital, by Venturini Alessandra, Sona Kalantaryan, Claudio Fassio (July 2015)
• International migration-development nexus: the case of the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT), by Ramzi B. Asali (July 2015)
• Global social protection: setting the agenda, by Peggy Levitt, Charlotte Lloyd, Armin Mueller, Jocelyn Viterna (October 2015)
• Palestinian refugees from Syria (PRS) in Jordan: the state of exclusivism, by Raed Eshnaiwer (November 2015)

Annual Conference of the Migration Policy Centre, 1-2 July 2015 (EUI, Florence)

On the 1-2 July, the Migration Policy Centre (MPC) held its Annual Conference on Migration, part of the ongoing EUI forum on Migration, Citizenship and Demography. The first day opened with several welcome addresses from stakeholders actively involved in the field of migration, both at the political and academic level. Professor Philippe Fargues, Director of the Migration Policy Centre and Scientific Organiser of the Conference, firstly recalled the importance of tackling migration issues not only as a problem to solve, but also as a challenge to take-up on a global scale.

Mr. Enrico Rossi, President of the Tuscan Region, then emphasised the urgent need for Europe to adopt a ‘clear and active strategy’ in order to confront ‘the root problem of political instability in the Mediterranean Area’ and to undertake concrete actions aimed at ensuring the reception of people seeking protection from war and persecution. In this regard, Mr. Rossi referred to the experimental model adopted by the Tuscan Region for receiving refugees and migrants coming from North Africa and the Middle East, based on distribution within localities instead of concentration in large structures, as a valuable source of inspiration for European Union’s policy to manage increasing migration flows.

Prof. Brigid Laffan, Director of the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies, welcomed for her part the engagement of the MPC team in producing advanced policy-oriented research and addressing the main challenges of migration and mobility, especially during the current context of crisis hitting Europe, affected by a loss of trust among its Member States and a lack of confidence from its citizens.

This session ended with an inspired ‘Keynote’ speech delivered by Mr. Gervais Appave, Special Policy Advisor of the Director General of the International Organisation for Migration, who first emphasised the major change of perspective resulting from growing worldwide mobility and unprecedented emergency situations. Stressing the need to better manage migration at the global level, he called on all States to cooperate more closely and to replace current isolated policies by collective and comprehensive actions. More fundamentally, he invited all stakeholders dealing with migration to ‘step back’, rethink the very concept and to update traditional definitions, from humanitarian protection to management of diversity, through multiculturalism and individuals’ identity.

The rest of the Conference was divided in four specific sessions. The first one, chaired by Peter Bosch, Senior Expert at the DG Home of the European Commission, was dedicated to migration from conflict areas to Europe. While acknowledging the current instability in the Mediterranean region and in the European’s neighbourhood, the panel reiterated the need for a strong cooperation between the EU and third countries currently hosting a large majority of refugees fleeing the Syrian conflict. At the intra-EU level, political leaders are expected to better tackle smuggling by providing migrants with effective legal channels and to show greater solidarity and responsibility for migration management and refugees relocation, either by activating current legal instruments or implementing new schemes of distribution.

The second session of the Conference, which took place on the second day, mainly focused on transnational bonds and integration of migrants, from both countries of origin and destination. It was also the occasion for the MPC to present the quantitative results of its INTERACT research project, assessing the role of emigration and diasporas policies, States and non-state actors in the integration of migrants in European countries at three levels: labour markets, education and citizenship.

The third panel discussed the future perspectives of Europe and the key role of migration in addressing demographic, welfare and innovative challenges, while the fourth and last session opened new avenues for external dimensions of European migration policies, by further developing current mobility partnerships and establishing stronger regional dialogue, notably with Asia, the Middle East and the Arab countries.

11^th Migration Summer School, Multiple Approaches to Migration: Challenges at Origin and Destination, 22 June – 3 July 2015 (EUI, Florence)

The MPC hosted the eleventh Migration Summer School: Multiple Approaches to Migration: Challenges at Origin and Destination, which took place at the EUI on 22 June – 3 July 2015. The MPC received over 200 applications, of which 26 were selected. With participation from 19 countries word-wide, the summer school was praised by those attending for its diversity, from the point of view of multi-nationality as well as a balance of participants from academia and practice.

Through a variety of disciplinary approaches, the intense two-week programme focused on the challenges that migration poses for countries of origin and destination, with 22 sessions led by members of the MPC, guest academic lecturers and policymakers. Participants also attended the MPC Annual Conference as part of the Summer School programme.

Upcoming Events

EUI Forum on Migration, Citizenship and Demography: Conference on Demography, 4-5 February 2016 (EUI, Florence)

A conference on demography will be organised in the framework of the European University Institute’s Forum on Migration, Citizenship and Demography (EUI’s Forum), in collaboration with the Migration Policy Centre (MPC), which will take place at the EUI on 4–5 February 2016.

The EUI’s Forum provides a frame to reflect on migration-related issues in the current context of the mass movements of refugees and migrants. It seeks to bring together academics, experts, stakeholders and practitioners in order to explore – and draw practical lessons from – unique challenges that these movements pose for both Europe and the world. Beyond the immediate crisis, the Forum will concentrate on migration’s far-reaching impact in four domains: demography; integration management; the repercussions for Europe’s fundamental premises; and the global governance of population flows.

The conference will focus on the links between migration and demography in Europe. It will, look into the present and future of Europe’s population – with a particular emphasis on: population decline and ageing and their consequences for the economy and society; the role of migration in population reproduction; and the tools and policies that address immigration in its relationship with demography.

More information and a full programme will be available on the MPC website in the New Year.

“Solidarity between Member States in Asylum and Borders Policies of the European Union”, Solidarity Project Conference, 26-27 February 2016 (Brussels)

The Migration Policy Centre will organise, in cooperation with the Odysseus Academic Network, a conference on “Solidarity between Member States in Asylum and Borders Policies of the European Union”, taking place in Brussels on Friday 26 and Saturday 27 February 2016.

The conference will address firstly the specificities of solidarity in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice in comparison with solidarity in other EU policies as well as with the situation in third countries like for instance Turkey. The second session focussing on the EU Asylum Policy will be mainly devoted to the delicate issue of relocating asylum seekers between Member States, the future of resettlement of refugees from third countries to EU Member States and the balance to establish between solidarity and responsibility in liaison with the evaluation and revision of the Dublin Regulation. The last session devoted to solidarity in the EU External Borders Policy will assess the action of Frontex and of the first term of the EASO, the possible extension of their mandate in policy implementation including the radical perspective of their transformation into some kind of federal agencies, and address the functioning of Hotspots.

The three types of solidarity existing in the EU (financial, physical and operational) will be analysed throughout the different presentations and panels. The conference is legally and policy oriented, including practical aspects and some presentations on an alternative form of market solidarity, statistics and international relations in the area. It will give the audience the opportunity to learn about the important policy developments of solidarity taking place in 2015, the upcoming proposals from the Commission in the area and the position of the main stakeholders and of Western, Eastern and Southern Member States of the EU as well as of third countries. Speakers will be academics, policy-makers from EU Institutions (Commission, Parliament, Frontex, EASO), Member States and third countries as well as stakeholders such as representatives of NGOs or the UNHCR. Sufficient space will be left for question time and discussions between the speakers and the audience.

Registration for the conference will be open from the beginning of December 2015, when the detailed programme will be disclosed.

More information is available here: http://odysseus-network.eu/omnia-annual-policy-conference/.

9^th Migration and Development Conference, 13-14 June 2016 (EUI, Florence)

The French Development Agency (AFD) Research Department, the World Bank Development Research Group (DECRG) and the Migration Policy Centre are jointly organising the 9th International Conference on “Migration and Development”, which will take place on 13-14 June at the EUI. The conference is devoted to investigating ways in which international migration affects economic and social change in developing countries. Possible topics include the effects of migration on poverty, inequality, and human capital formation; social networks; diaspora externalities; remittances; brain drain; migration and institutional/technological change.

The conference is now considered the main event in the field of migration and development economics. It attracts the best senior and junior contributors to that field and has gradually open to other social sciences. Key note speeches will be given by Prof. Massimo Livi Bacci of the University of Florence, and Prof. Gianmarco Ottaviano of the London School of Economics.

The call for papers is currently open, with a submission deadline of 15 January 2016. For more information and the call for papers, click here.