Large numbers of refugees and migrants seek entry into the EU. How to distribute asylum applicants among EU member states, and how to efficiently integrate those that are allowed to stay? What are the consequences for society, Europe’s cohesion and its capacity to act?
Find the latest MEDAM research and policy advice as well as news on and from our project.
Melanie Radike
melanie.radike@medam-migration.eu
+49 431 8814-329
The EU should not allow itself to be distracted by short-term maneuvers like the opening by Turkey of certain border crossings for irregular migrants. Instead the EU should offer to renew the EU Turkey agreement on refugee protection and increase financial support for the reception and integration of refugees in Turkey on a long-term basis, comments MEDAM researcher Matthias Lücke.
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Within the framework of a second funding by the Mercator Foundation, the MEDAM project will run until the end of 2022.
For three years now, researchers from three renowned institutions have been working to close research gaps in the field of asylum and migration, and to create scientifically sound foundations for political decision making and to carry these into politics through direct dialogue activities.
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WAMiG researchers Judith Altrogge, Kwaku Arhin-Sam, Leonie Jegen and Franzisca Zanker discuss their research findings with academics and civil society activists from Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana and Gambia.
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The 2019 MEDAM Assessment Report presents insights from MEDAM research and policy dialogue since 2016 to explain how closer cooperation among EU member states and with countries of origin and transit can improve outcomes for all stakeholders.
The new EU Commission should now tackle asylum and immigration policy afresh and overcome the impasse in the reform of the EU asylum system that has persisted since 2016. In this 2019 MEDAM Assessment Report, we present insights from MEDAM research and policy dialogue since 2016 to explain how closer cooperation among EU member states and with countries of origin and transit can improve outcomes for all stakeholders. Read the full report here.
Europeans want to protect refugees, but prefer policies that use limits and conditions, MEDAM study finds.
More than 25 percent of the aid money given by rich countries is not transferred to developing countries. Moreover, the increase of development aid in recent years is mostly attributable to higher spending on refugees within donor countries.
The lecture series “Understanding the EU’s asylum and immigration dilemmas”–organised by MEDAM researcher Esther Ademmer–starts in July at the Institute for the World Economy. The lectures that take place on 08, 15 and 19 July are open to the public and are aimed at students and other interested parties.
“Most of the world’s displaced people do not live in Europe. World Refugee Day reminds us that the EU and its member states can do more to manage migration to Europe effectively and humanely and to assist refugees in low-and-middle-income host countries.”
Read the commentary here…
Increasing development aid to fight the “root causes of migration” will not reassure immigration critics. A new MEDAM Policy Brief shows that the public’s belief in development aid as a policy instrument is strongly driven by existing attitudes on immigration.
Read the policy brief here…
Increasing development aid to fight the “root causes of migration” will not reassure immigration critics. New research shows that the public’s belief in development aid as a policy instrument is strongly driven by existing attitudes on immigration.
Organized by MEDAM, two of the summit’s sessions will address asylum and migration issues: the panel session “Governing migration within and from Africa: What is Europe’s role?” as well as an open research seminar where three experts will present insights from their latest research.
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As part of the MEDAM project, the Arnold Bergstraesser Institute is preparing four case studies on the Gambia, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal to highlight the political dimensions of migration governance in West Africa and the many actors involved.
Contrary to the dominant view among development experts, new research shows how aid can actually reduce migration if it improves public services. But aid is only one of many factors affecting migration decisions.
Within a week and just in time for International Migrants Day, the international community has adopted both the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration and the Global Compact on Refugees. The adoption of the UN’s compacts is an important step to manage migration more effectively and humanely, as well as reduce irregular migration, says MEDAM migration expert Matthias Lücke. Provided they are successfully implemented. Read more…
The adoption of the UN’s compacts is an important step to manage migration more effectively and humanely, as well as reduce irregular migration, says MEDAM migration expert Matthias Lücke. Provided they are successfully implemented.
Europeans assess the impact of immigration on their country in a more positive light than they did in 2002. Despite the increased polarization of citizens’ attitudes towards immigration, these findings indicate that policy makers have room to develop balanced solutions for asylum and immigration policy.
New CEPS working paper by MEDAM researchers Mikkel Barslund, Mattia Di Salvo, and Nadzeya Laurentsyeva looks at the composition of recent refugee inflows and reviews the relevant characteristics of EU labor markets to assess the impact the recently arrived refugees will have on the labor markets of receiving EU countries.
Read the article working paper here (external link).
Berlin, Florence, Brussels, Vienna, Budapest, and Warsaw: In recent weeks, MEDAM researchers have travelled extensively to discuss the conclusions of the 2018 MEDAM Assessment Report—as dialogue with all EU member states remains crucial to reimagine the EU asylum system and overcome the current deadlock.
In our 2018 MEDAM Assessment Report, researchers from the Mercator Dialogue on Asylum and Migration (MEDAM) set out a comprehensive strategy for EU asylum and immigration policies that is both politically feasible and effective.
In the 2018 MEDAM Assessment Report, we set out a comprehensive strategy for EU asylum and immigration policies that is both politically feasible and effective.
Read the full report here.
Irregular migration can only be reduced if potential migrants have better options. More international cooperation in vocational training and further education as well as legal pathways into the EU labor market would help, says MEDAM’s Matthias Lücke on International Migrants Day.
Read the press release here…
Irregular migration can only be reduced if potential migrants have better options. More international cooperation in vocational training and further education as well as legal pathways into the EU labor market would help.
In mid-October, the second multi-stakeholder hearing of the preparatory process of the Global Compact for safe, orderly and regular migration took place in Geneva. MEDAM researcher Matthias Lücke contributed through written submissions addressing labor migration in particular. Destination countries should allow more skilled immigration, and help people in countries of origin to acquire the certified skills needed – to the benefit of both countries of origin and destination. Read more…
On October 5-6, MEDAM researchers Mauro Lanati and Tobias Stöhr took part in the “WIDER Development Conference on migration and mobility” in Accra, Ghana. Both Researchers presented findings from their current work.
There is an alternative to Italian-Libyan cooperation, but it does involve more actors and is much harder to implement. It also tackles the root cause of the problem with the Central Mediterranean route: that the vast majority of arrivals to Italy are not eligible for protection.
Read the commentary here (external link).
On June 20th, Mikkel Barslund and Lars Ludolph engaged in a closed-door meeting with the Belgian Secretary of State for Migration and Asylum, Theo Francken. Following a presentation of the 2017 MEDAM assessment report main findings, topics discussed ranged widely – from the Dublin system to irregular crossings along the Mediterranean route.
Read the article here (external link).
The marked increase in irregular crossings from Libya to Italy caused the Italian Prime Minister, Paolo Gentiloni, to issue a plea for help – as well as a threat to close of vessels disembarking migrants from search and rescue operations. MEDAM researchers Mikkel Barslund and Lars Ludolph discuss the way forward.
Read the commentary here.
On July 7, the G20 Hamburg Summit starts, with the refugee crisis being high on the agenda. Co-chaired by MEDAM researcher Matthias Lücke, the T20 network of international think tanks’ Task Force on Forced Migration‘ came up with specific solution proposals for the G20 leaders.
Read the recommendations here.
Border walls are gaining popularity in Europe and the U.S. Refugees Deeply published an excerpt from our 2107 assessment report, which explains how walls don’t stop immigration but shift migration patterns and harm integration.
Read the article here (external website).
How can the responsibility for refugees be distributed more fairly – globally and within the EU? And how can we curb irregular migration while expanding legal immigration to the benefit of all concerned? These and other questions are addressed in the first annual MEDAM assessment report, which was launched at the ‘Think20 Summit- GLOBAL SOLUTIONS’ on May 30, 2017 in Berlin.
Read the full report here.
Launched at the ‘Think20 Summit – GLOBAL SOLUTIONS’ on May 30, 2017 in Berlin, the 2017 MEDAM Assessment Report calls for more flexible solidarity in the European asylum and migration policy.
A MEDAM session addressed the difficulties regarding the labor market integration of refugees at the CEPS Ideas Lab 2017, which took place 23-24 February. Herbert Brücker, Jelena Drenjanin, Yunus Mohammdi as well as moderator Mehtap Akgüç discussed challenges, opportunities and best cases.
The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) published a summary of MEDAM’s study on the integration of Bosnian refugees in Europe following the Balkan wars in the 1990s. With the right integration policies and labor market conditions, it is possible to achieve a high level of integration among refugees within a short period of time.
Read the article here (external website).
From 13 to 15 February 2017, MPC hosted the project’s first MEDAM authors meeting. Dedicated to shaping MEDAM’s flagship output, the annual MEDAM Assessment Report, 15 MEDAM researchers came together to exchange current research and discuss its policy implications.
Before the EU Summit in Malta, German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke with MEDAM researcher Esther Ademmer about Europe’s immigration agenda and the possibility of a framework agreement between the EU and Libya.
Watch the (German-language) video here.
To mark the start of the German G20 Presidency, some 200 representatives of the Think20 Engagements Group met in Berlin on December 1 and 2, 2016. The Kiel Institute for the World Economy and the German Development Institute (DIE) are leading the group of think tanks from the G20 countries.
David Benček’s and Julia Strasheim’s working paper “Refugees Welcome? Introducing a New Dataset on Anti-Refugee Violence in Germany, 2014-2015” was cited in a Washington Post article on Europe’s urban-rural divide and its consequences.
Read the article here (external website).
MEDAM Researchers will participate in the Think20 Task Force on Forced Migration. The Think20 (T20) is a group of think tanks from the G20 countries, which have been entrusted by the German Federal Government with developing recommendations for the G20 during Germany’s G20 Presidency in 2017.
