E.g., 07/23/2026
E.g., 07/23/2026
European Union

European Union

In the European Union, enlargement, special arrangements for the expansion of the Schengen Area, and the gradual development of a stronger EU role in immigration have added new complexity to the policy landscape, leading to both new patterns of movement and new policies for governing immigration from outside of the European Union's 27 Member States. The research offered here focuses on migration policies, trends, and common challenges that affect Europe at a supranational level—from free movement to asylum policy and the management of EU borders.

Recent Activity

Una mujer con gafas
Articles
A woman with glasses
Articles
After being stranded in Libya, migrant from Senegal returns with help from IOM
Short Reads
June 2026
By  Camille Le Coz and Ravenna Sohst
A small boat flying the Turkish flag moving through the sea.
Articles
A road sign in Kazakhstan.
Articles
Cover image for Building Refugee-Inclusive Labor Mobility Pathways
Reports
February 2026
By  María Belén Zanzuchi, Kate Hooper and Abigail Goldfarb
Cover image for Building Refugee-Inclusive Labor Mobility Pathways
Reports
February 2026
By  María Belén Zanzuchi, Kate Hooper and Abigail Goldfarb
Cover image for Best Practices for Designing and Managing Labour Migration Corridors to Europe
Reports
December 2025
By  Kate Hooper, María Belén Zanzuchi, Abigail Goldfarb, Ravenna Sohst and Bertrand Steiner
Cover image for Reframing Return and Reintegration
Policy Briefs
October 2025
By  Bertrand Steiner, Adèle Appriou, Ravenna Sohst and Camille Le Coz
Cover image for How Can Labor Migration Policies Help Tackle Europe’s Looming Skills Crisis?
Reports
June 2025
By  Kate Hooper, Tesseltje de Lange and Jasmijn Slootjes
Cover image for Small Boats, Big Stakes
Policy Briefs
June 2025
By  Meghan Benton, Susan Fratzke and Nurbanu Hayır
Cover image for Consideraciones clave para futuros programas de protección temporal...
Reports
June 2025
By  Diego Chaves-González, María Jesús Mora, Ana Alanis and Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan
Cover image for Key Considerations for Future Temporary Protection and Regularization Programs...
Reports
June 2025
By  Diego Chaves-González, María Jesús Mora, Ana Alanis and Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan
A woman with glasses

Spain's offer of legal status to a record number of irregular migrants, most of them from the Western Hemisphere, stands in contrast to the policy approaches in Latin America, where many previous regularization initiatives have ended or were closed to new entrants. This article examines the 2026 regularization in Spain, and the ramifications for Latin America.

Una mujer con gafas

La regularización extraordinaria que España llevará a cabo en 2026 podría otorgar estatus legal a un número récord de migrantes en situación irregular, la mayoría de ellos procedentes de América Latina. Este artículo examina la regularización en España, sus posibles repercusiones y las consecuencias para América Latina.

A small boat flying the Turkish flag moving through the sea.

Previously niche strategies of recruiting partner countries to help manage irregular migration have become mainstream. Governments in multiple migrant-receiving countries have engaged other countries to screen, detain, remove, or otherwise transfer migrants elsewhere—in effect pushing the border outwards. While some externalization approaches have been criticized, the range of models is more nuanced than is commonly understood.

A road sign in Kazakhstan.

Patterns of migration from Central Asia are changing amid deteriorating conditions in Russia following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine and a 2024 terrorist attack in Moscow blamed on Tajik nationals. Some labor migrants from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan are looking to new destinations in Europe and beyond, bringing its own set of challenges.

Copenhagen's Nyhavn district.

Denmark has gradually moved to a restrictive approach toward humanitarian protection, in a shift that has made it something of a leader for other countries—and an anomaly as it has done so under a center-left government. As this country profile explains, Danish policymakers have pioneered policies that limit protection, including making it temporary.

After being stranded in Libya, migrant from Senegal returns with help from IOM
Short Reads
June 2026
By  Camille Le Coz and Ravenna Sohst
Worker holds stack of paperwork
Short Reads
December 2025
By  Kate Hooper, Nurbanu Hayır and María Belén Zanzuchi
Equipment for a USAID project in Indonesia
Short Reads
April 2025
By  Lawrence Huang, Samuel Davidoff-Gore and Susan Fratzke
A German border sign next to a road
Short Reads
September 2024
By  Hanne Beirens, Susan Fratzke and Camille Le Coz
European and UK leaders at 2024 European Political Community summit
Short Reads
July 2024
By  Camille Le Coz and Meghan Benton
Image of female worker at the Boqueria market in Barcelona making a crepe
Short Reads
March 2024
By  Anna Terrón Cusí and Andrew Selee
Image of EU and Member State flags flapping in wind
Short Reads
December 2023
By  Hanne Beirens and Camille Le Coz
Photo of a teacher from Ukraine organizing activities for refugee children in Moldova
Short Reads
February 2023
By  Hanne Beirens, Lucía Salgado and Jasmijn Slootjes
Image of women and young children from Ukraine arriving at train station in Bucharest
Short Reads
October 2022
By  Maria Vincenza Desiderio and Kate Hooper
A woman in a winter coat receives food from a woman in an orange safety vest at a train station in P
Short Reads
May 2022
By  Meghan Benton and Andrew Selee
Video, Audio
February 26, 2026

This webinar explored labor migration pathways as a potential avenue for qualified refugees to access protection in Europe while helping meet destination countries’ skill needs. Speakers examined ways to make work visas more accessible to qualified refugees and how to remove barriers that prevent refugees from entering via the labor pathway. 

Video, Audio
January 13, 2026

Featuring a study on the role that counselling and reintegration programs can play in shaping migrants' return decisions, this webinar examines how timing of such interventions, counselling approaches, and collaboration with trusted origin-country partners can help make these programs more effective.

Video, Audio
December 11, 2025

Featuring discussion of a study that examines best practices for designing and managing labor migration corridors between EU Member States and partner countries, this webinar offers insights on how to connect employers and workers, promote skills development, protect migrant workers, and maximize benefits for both countries of origin and

Video
September 10, 2025

This discussion, held in Berlin in collaboration with the Robert Bosch Stiftung, examines the relationship between migration policy, integration approaches, public trust, and democratic resilience in Europe and beyond.

Video
January 23, 2025

Connecting with and providing counselling to irregular migrants is crucial for addressing irregular migration in Europe yet remains a challenging and underexplored area.

Recent Activity

Articles

La regularización extraordinaria que España llevará a cabo en 2026 podría otorgar estatus legal a un número récord de migrantes en situación irregular, la mayoría de ellos procedentes de América Latina. Este artículo examina la regularización en España, sus posibles repercusiones y las consecuencias para América Latina.

Articles

Spain's offer of legal status to a record number of irregular migrants, most of them from the Western Hemisphere, stands in contrast to the policy approaches in Latin America, where many previous regularization initiatives have ended or were closed to new entrants. This article examines the 2026 regularization in Spain, and the ramifications for Latin America.

Short Reads
June 2026

EU policymakers are under mounting pressure to increase returns, yet the reintegration of returnees remains a politically overlooked dimension. This short read examines the fragmented landscape of assisted voluntary return and reintegration (AVRR) programs, the limits of current approaches, and how a more coherent European framework—anchored in local institutions and development partnerships—could better serve both returnees as well as origin and destination countries.

Articles

Previously niche strategies of recruiting partner countries to help manage irregular migration have become mainstream. Governments in multiple migrant-receiving countries have engaged other countries to screen, detain, remove, or otherwise transfer migrants elsewhere—in effect pushing the border outwards. While some externalization approaches have been criticized, the range of models is more nuanced than is commonly understood.

Articles

Patterns of migration from Central Asia are changing amid deteriorating conditions in Russia following its 2022 invasion of Ukraine and a 2024 terrorist attack in Moscow blamed on Tajik nationals. Some labor migrants from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan are looking to new destinations in Europe and beyond, bringing its own set of challenges.

Video, Audio, Webinars
February 26, 2026

This webinar explored labor migration pathways as a potential avenue for qualified refugees to access protection in Europe while helping meet destination countries’ skill needs. Speakers examined ways to make work visas more accessible to qualified refugees and how to remove barriers that prevent refugees from entering via the labor pathway. 

Reports
February 2026

When refugees can access mainstream work visas, this offers opportunities to find safety while also helping destination countries meet pressing labor needs. Yet the design of many work visas puts them out of reach for well-qualified refugees. This visa evaluation framework and scorecard highlight how different characteristics can make a visa more or less accessible, transparent, and predictable.

Video, Audio, Webinars
January 13, 2026

Featuring a study on the role that counselling and reintegration programs can play in shaping migrants' return decisions, this webinar examines how timing of such interventions, counselling approaches, and collaboration with trusted origin-country partners can help make these programs more effective.