EU migration and asylum policies: Building resilience for changing geopolitical realities

08.30   Welcome coffee and registrations

09.00   Introductory remarks

09.15   Keynote statement 

09.30   Session 1: Targeting the root causes of migration: What can realistically be achieved by policy makers? 

10.45   Coffee break

11.15   Session 2: EU-Turkey relations on migration: Lessons learned and future perspectives 

12.30   Lunch break

13.45   Session 3: Public attitudes on migration and asylum

15.00   Coffee break

15.30   Session 4: Solidarity and responsibility-sharing in EU migration and asylum policies following the invasion of Ukraine

16.45   Closing remarks

17.00   End

09:15 – 09:30

Keynote statement

Drawing on the themes that will be addressed throughout the day, the Belgian Secretary of State for Migration and Asylum, Nicole de Moor, will open the conference with initial reflections on building resilient migration and asylum policies in the EU.

Keynote speaker:

• Nicole de Moor, Belgian Secretary of State, Asylum and Migration

Moderator:

• Marie De Somer, Head of Migration and Diversity Programme, European Policy Centre

09:30 – 10:45

Targeting the root causes of migration: What can realistically be achieved by policy makers?

The past decade has seen unprecedented interest in understanding people’s decision to migrate from developing countries, how potential migrants' decision-making is influenced by changes in income and living conditions, and what policy implications ensue from these dynamics. Against this background, the session will discuss what should be the scope and effective design of policies that target the 'root causes of (irregular) migration' from developing countries to the EU.

Panelists:

• Tobias Heidland, Professor of Economics and Director, International Development Research Centre, Kiel Institute for the World Economy
• Francesco Luciani, Head of Unit, Migration and Forced Displacement, European Commission
• Silvia Sinibaldi, International Cooperation and Humanitarian Director, Caritas Europa
• Victoria Rietig, Head of Migration Programme, German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP)

Moderator:

• Anna Knoll, Head of the Migration and Mobility Programme, European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM)

11:15 – 12:30

EU-Turkey relations on migration: Lessons learned and future perspectives

In this second panel, analysts and policy makers will review the state of EU-Turkey relations on migration and consider what the future holds for EU-Turkey cooperation on the topic, in the face of a changed geopolitical context, and of Turkey’s ongoing societal and political changes.

Panelists:

• Saime Özçürümez, Associate Professor, Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Blinkent University
• Bernard Brunet, Head of the Turkey Unit, DG NEAR, European Commission
• Kemal Kirişci, Nonresident Senior Fellow, Center on the United States and Europe’s Turkey Project, The Brookings Institution
• Angeliki Dimitriadi, Research Fellow, Global Public Policy Institute

Moderator:

• Silvia Carta, Policy Analyst, European Policy Centre

13:45 – 15:00

Public attitudes on migration and asylum

Understanding the characteristics, variations and determinants of public attitudes towards migrants and migration policies is of critical importance to effective and sustainable policy making on migration and refugee protection. The MEDAM project has contributed to this debate in the past few years, looking at European citizens’ attitudes and policy preferences in the area of migration and refugee protection, and what these views and preferences may mean for policymaking at national and EU level. This session will be an opportunity to engage in a discussion about the policy relevance of this research, also in light of the major changes in the EU’s migration debate after the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.

Panelists:

• Martin Ruhs, Chair in Migration Studies and Deputy Director of the Migration Policy Centre, European University Institute
• Lenka Drazanova, Research Fellow, European University Institute Martin Ruhs, Chair in Migration Studies and Deputy Director of the Migration Policy Centre, European University Institute
• Birgit Sippel, Member of the European Parliament, S&D
• Brian Synnot, Communication Advisor and Member of the cabinet of Commissioner Ylva Johansson

Moderator:

• Shada Islam, Senior Adviser, European Policy Centre and Editor, EUobserver

15:30 – 16:45

Solidarity and responsibility-sharing in EU migration and asylum policies following the invasion of Ukraine

This final session brings together a series of expert speakers to engage on some of the most defining debates on intra-EU decision-making on solidarity and responsibility-sharing to which the MEDAM project has contributed over the past six years. In order to learn from the past, face the present and prepare for an uncertain future, speakers will reflect on how these debates will be shaped, going forward, by the EU’s response to displacement from Ukraine. The discussion will cover responsibility-sharing over asylum-seekers, solidarity in the context of external border management, and reflections on the way forward towards more harmonised national asylum and reception systems across the EU.

Panelists:

• Matthias Lücke, Senior Researcher and Adjunct Professor, Kiel Institute for the World Economy
• Giulio Di Blasi, Member of the Cabinet of Commissioner Ylva Johansson, European Commission
• Vladimír Šimoňak, Head of the Crisis Management Unit, Slovak Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Blanca Garcés Mascareñas, Senior Research Fellow and Research Coordinator, Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (CIDOB)

Moderator:

• Marie De Somer, Head of Migration and Diversity Programme, European Policy Centre