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22. Fear and lying in the EU: Fighting disinformation on migration with alternative narratives
- Author:
- Alberto-Horst Neidhardt and Paul Butcher
- Publication Date:
- 11-2020
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- European Policy Centre
- Abstract:
- Rather than trying to counter disinformation stories about migrants directly, communication professionals and policymakers must instead promote alternative narratives that undermine the appeal of messages that incite fear and rage, and reframe the debate on migration entirely. This is the conclusion of a collaborative research project between the Foundation for European Progressive Studies, the European Policy Centre, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and the Fundación Pablo Iglesias. Its aim was to identify and analyse misleading and hostile narratives on migration in Europe and formulate concrete recommendations on how to tackle them. The authors examined nearly 1,500 news articles from four EU member states (Germany, Italy, Spain and the Czech Republic), published between May 2019 and July 2020. Based on their research, the authors argue that disinformation narratives about migration seek to exploit readers’ fears to polarise public opinion, manufacture discontent, sow divisions and set the political agenda. They tend to adapt and change alongside the public’s main concerns. The COVID-19 pandemic, for example, has led to a growing stream of articles linking migrants to infection risks and accusing them of receiving preferential treatment.
- Topic:
- Migration, European Union, Refugees, COVID-19, and Disinformation
- Political Geography:
- Europe
23. ‘When Mayors make Migration Policy’: What role for cities in EU migration and integration policymaking?
- Author:
- Petra Bendel, Janina Stürner, Christiane Heimann, and Hannes Schammann
- Publication Date:
- 03-2020
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- European Policy Centre
- Abstract:
- European cities and towns deserve to have a bigger say in developing migration and integration policies at the national and EU level. European cities and towns are at the forefront of the reception and integration of refugees and migrants. Their expertise and knowledge are crucial in crafting workable solutions for new arrivals and their host communities. Luckily, EU institutions and a growing number of member states are starting to recognise municipal actors as essential players in integration governance. However, moving away from ad hoc exchanges on integration towards more structural forms of cooperation, and opening up migration policy debates to local input remains challenging. Building on an analysis of the benefits of proactive cooperation between local authorities and EU institutions, this Policy Brief presents recommendations to (i) strengthen the local impact on supranational policymaking; (ii) link migration and integration policies through the inclusion of municipalities; and (iii) mitigate the urban-rural divide.
- Topic:
- Migration, European Union, Refugees, and Integration
- Political Geography:
- Europe
24. European and African perspectives on asylum and migration policy. Seeking common ground
- Author:
- Olivia Sundberg Diez, Matthias Lücke, Leonie Jegen, and Franzisca Zanker
- Publication Date:
- 04-2020
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- European Policy Centre
- Abstract:
- If the EU and its member states are to manage migration successfully, they need to start treating countries of origin and transit, especially in Africa, as equal partners. The Union must make a conscious effort to negotiate comprehensive agreements on mobility that reflect both sides’ interests, concerns, and political realities. The European Commission is currently finalising its proposed New Pact on Migration and Asylum to re-start the debate on how to reform the Common European Asylum System and manage migration from outside the EU. One prominent aspect is the ‘external dimension’: jointly managing migration with countries of origin and transit. In this 2020 MEDAM Assessment Report, the authors explore how European and African governments can reach common ground on policies related to migration and mobility.
- Topic:
- Migration, Treaties and Agreements, European Union, Refugees, and Asylum
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Europe
25. The upcoming New Pact on Migration and Asylum: Will it be up to the challenge?
- Author:
- Alberto-Horst Neidhardt and Olivia Sundberg Diez
- Publication Date:
- 04-2020
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- European Policy Centre
- Abstract:
- A courageous and ambitious New Pact on Migration and Asylum is one that strengthens the right to asylum; sets the conditions for more equal relationships with third countries when it comes to managing migration; and puts forward a mechanism that can foster genuine solidarity between member states. When the new Commission entered into office in December 2019, it promised a fresh start on migration, breaking the deadlock between member states on long-awaited reforms. Unfortunately, based on a range of leaked papers and official (draft) documents that have been circulating since late 2019, it seems that the Commission may opt to reduce the New Pact to a collection of watered-down compromises on responsibility-sharing. It also appears to be doubling down on control-oriented measures. This Discussion Paper argues that a different approach is needed to set up an EU asylum and migration policy that is efficient, respects asylum seekers’ fundamental rights and can prevent and meaningfully address future humanitarian emergencies.
- Topic:
- Migration, Treaties and Agreements, Refugees, and Asylum
- Political Geography:
- Europe
26. Covid 19 and post Brexit migration policy
- Author:
- Alberto Costa, Jonathan Portes, Lauren McLaren, Marina Fernandez Reino, and Tim Bale
- Publication Date:
- 06-2020
- Content Type:
- Video
- Institution:
- UK in a Changing Europe, King's College London
- Abstract:
- Our recent #IsolationInsight virtual event looked at what the UK’s post Brexit immigration regime could and should look like, considering also public opinion on immigration and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Speakers: Alberto Costa, Conservative MP for South Leicestershire Professor Jonathan Portes, senior fellow at the UK in a Changing Europe Professor Lauren McLaren, @University of Leicester Marina Fernandez Reino, Migration Observatory Chair: Professor Tim Bale, deputy director at the UK in a Changing Europe
- Topic:
- Economics, Migration, Politics, Immigration, Economy, Brexit, and COVID-19
- Political Geography:
- United Kingdom and Europe
27. The Influence of EU Migration Policy on Regional Free Movement in the IGAD and ECOWAS Regions
- Author:
- Clare Castillejo
- Publication Date:
- 01-2019
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- German Development Institute (DIE)
- Abstract:
- Establishing free movement regimes is an ambition for most African regional economic communities, and such regimes are widely understood as important for regional integration, growth and development. However, in recent years the EU’s migration policies and priorities in Africa - which are narrowly focused on stemming irregular migration to Europe – appear to be in tension with African ambitions for free movement. This paper examines how the EU’s current political engagement and programming on migration in Africa is impacting on African ambitions to establish free movement regimes. It focuses first on the continental level, and then looks in-depth at two regional economic communities: The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in the Horn of Africa, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The paper begins by examining how free movement has featured within both EU and African migration agendas in recent years, describing how this issue has been increasingly sidelined within the EU’s migration policy framework, while receiving growing attention by the African Union. The paper then discusses the impact of EU migration policies and programmes on progress towards regional free movement in the IGAD region. It finds that the EU is broadly supportive of efforts to establish an IGAD free movement regime, although in practice gives this little priority in comparison with other migration issues. The paper goes on to examine the EU’s engagement in the ECOWAS region, which is strongly focused on preventing irregular migration and returning irregular migrants. It asks whether there is an innate tension between this EU agenda and the ambitions of ECOWAS to fully realise its existing free movement regime, and argues that the EU’s current engagement in West Africa is actively undermining free movement. Finally, the paper discusses the differences between the EU’s approach to migration and free movement in these two regions. It offers recommendations regarding how the EU can strengthen its support for free movement in both these regions, as well as more broadly in Africa.
- Topic:
- Development, Migration, Regional Cooperation, and Economic growth
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Europe, and European Union
28. Supporting or Thwarting? The Influence of European Union Migration Policies on African Free Movement Regimes in West and North-Eastern Africa
- Author:
- Clare Castillejo, Eva Dick, and Benjamin Schraven
- Publication Date:
- 01-2019
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- German Development Institute (DIE)
- Abstract:
- The European Union (EU) approach to migration in Africa has significantly shifted in the last few years. Notably since 2015, it has focused on preventing irregular migration and privileges engagement with the main countries of origin and transit of migrants. In the context of the 2015 Joint Valletta Action Plan (JVAP), a funding instrument – the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF) –was created to channel development aid in support of EU interests in curbing migration. As reflected in historical and more recent policy agendas, economic integration and free movement within the continent and its regions constitute key elements of African development ambitions and narratives. But an increasing body of research suggests that EU activities (in particular the EUTF) sideline or even undermine African stakeholders and interests in decision-making and programming on migration. This paper analyses the effects of EU political dialogue and programming on regional free movement (RFM) in two African regions: the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in the Horn of Africa and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in West Africa. These regions receive the greatest amount of EUTF funding. While both IGAD and ECOWAS have frameworks on RFM, these are at very different stages of development. The analysis, based on literature review and field research, shows that EU approaches to and impact on RFM differ significantly in the two regions. In the IGAD region, the EU is not undermining but rather supporting free movement – albeit not as significantly as it could. In contrast, in the ECOWAS region the EU’s focus on preventing irregular migration is undermining progress on RFM. At least three factors drive this difference: 1) institutional coherence and decision-making powers vary considerably in the two regions; 2) whereas some powerful member states in the IGAD region consider free movement to be a barrier to their hegemonic role, member states in the ECOWAS region largely see it as positive; and 3) EU migration programming in these regions is driven by different levels of urgency – with the largest number of irregular migrants coming from West Africa, the EU’s objective of curbing migration is more accentuated in the ECOWAS region.
- Topic:
- Development, Migration, Regional Cooperation, and Refugees
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Europe, and European Union
29. Horizontal and Vertical Diversity: Unintended Consequences of EU External Migration Policy
- Author:
- Natasja Reslow
- Publication Date:
- 03-2019
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The International Spectator
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- Unintended consequences arising from EU external migration policy are a result of the multi-actor nature of this policy and of policy interactions. In addition, scholars face serious methodological challenges in establishing what the EU’s ‘intent’ is in external migration policy and, therefore, in determining which consequences are intended and which are unintended. The literature on the implementation and evaluation of EU external migration policy is in its infancy, and future work should take into account all policy outcomes – both those that were intended and those that were not.
- Topic:
- Migration, Immigration, Governance, and Refugees
- Political Geography:
- Europe and European Union
30. Meaningfully Engaging Youth in the Governance of the Global Refugee System
- Author:
- Bushra Ebadi
- Publication Date:
- 11-2019
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation
- Abstract:
- Young people aged 15 to 35 comprise one-third of the world’s population, yet they are largely absent from decision-making fora and, as such, unaccounted for in policy making, programming and laws. The disenfranchisement of displaced youth is a particular problem, because it further marginalizes young people who have already experienced persecution and been forcibly displaced. This paper aims to demonstrate the importance of including displaced youth in governance and decision making, to identify key barriers to engagement that displaced youth face, and to highlight effective strategies for engaging youth. Comprehensive financial, legal, social and governance reforms are needed in order to facilitate and support the meaningful engagement of youth in the refugee and IDP systems. Without these reforms and partnerships between youth and other diverse stakeholders, it will be difficult to achieve sustainable solutions for forcibly displaced populations and the communities that host them.
- Topic:
- Migration, Refugee Issues, Displacement, Youth Movement, and Humanitarian Crisis
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Europe, Asia, South America, North America, and Global Focus