Migration

Although Lebanon receives EU support to provide for Syrian refugees, they are increasingly being criminalized and deported. Less than a week after Commission President Von der Leyen’s visit in May, Lebanon issued new residence regulations that effectively block the pathways to legal residence. These new regulations were followed by deportations to Syria, which the EU does not consider safe for return. Instead of making support conditional on respect for the refugees’ human rights, the EU is turning a blind eye. 

Migration and asylum have been at the top of the agenda in the EU for some time now. Thereby, the discussion is less about solving problems or addressing the suffering of people on the move, but more about preventing people from reaching European soil. This is neither good for the people seeking refuge in our continent, nor beneficial to the political debate on these issues.

While the European Union is poised for alteration, it becomes important more than ever to remember why Türkiye matters for Europe’s migration challenges. The EU needs a stable Türkiye. A country in severe economic and political conditions, lacking sufficient support for refugees and migrants, perfectly illustrates the push factors that drive further migration where the EU is a near destination. A stable Türkiye benefits the EU, the population in Türkiye, and the surrounding region. This cannot be achieved with unfair policies.

While some Member states commit to Feminist Foreign Policy agendas, its implementation in Europe’s migration and asylum regime remains all but absent. How does Europe square the circle between Feminist Foreign Policy and border control policies?

Since the start of Russia's war against Ukraine on 24 February 2022, three and a half million people have fled the country. A conversation with Tineke Strik MEP on the triggering of the EU Temporary Protection Directive and what chances and challenges come with it.

The humanitarian crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border has been intensifying. The psychological and political effect of escalation is analysed by Prof. Przemysław Sadura on the basis of his own research from the zone of the state of emergency.  

This short sentence is all you need to understand why the German government committed an error of judgment concerning Afghanistan. An error of judgment that kills people every day – and democracy throughout the world as well, by the way.

Despite its tough public rhetoric, the Polish government might turn out to be more flexible behind closed doors regarding the New Pact, to prevent embarrassing defeats on issues that are far more important from a domestic policy point of view, such as the rule of law.

On 23 September, the European Commission tabled the “New Pact on Migration and Asylum”. An interview with MEP and migration policy spokesperson of the Greens/EFA group at the European Parliament, Erik Marquardt, on the future of European asylum and migration.