Migration challenges in European and National Politics

#Migrations, prompted by rising insecurity, socio-economic disparities and environmental poverty, are back on the top of the EU’s political agenda. To consolidate the EU’s approach in this policy-area, the European Parliament and Council adopted in December 2023 a New Pact on Migration and Asylum. This New Pact, which seeks to strike a balance between solidarity, responsibility and respect for human rights, comes after years of gridlock. But much remains to be done as migrations remain a highly politicised topic in most member states, and a sensitive one domestically. Ideas once rather promoted by far-right political forces have now become mainstream. In the run-up to the European Parliament elections of June 2023, the topic is, once again, expected to take an important role in election campaigns and political discussions. What are the new dynamics in migration flows to Europe? Will the EU’s New Pact on Migration become the coherent strategy on migration the EU needs? How misaligned do national interests and priorities remain in this area? How are migrations used in political discourses and campaigns today in Europe? What political impact do they have in countries like France and Austria and on the EU level?

Opening
Sebastian Schäffer,
Director of the Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe (IDM)

Keynote
Rainer Münz,
Visiting Professor at the Central European University (CEU) and former Adviser on Migration and Demography at the European Political Strategy Centre

Panel Discussion
Catherine Wihtol de Wenden,
Director of research at the Center for International Studies Science Po, Paris

Alida Vračić,
Co-founder and executive directress of Populari, Member of Balkans in Europe Policy Advisory Group (BiEPAG), Sarajevo

Maurizio Ambrosini,
Senior Advisor at the Italian Institute for International Political studies (ISPI) and professor of Sociology and Migration at the University of Milan

Vít Hloušek,
Vice-dean for research and doctoral studies at the Faculty of Social Studies at Masaryk University, Brno

Malwina Talik
Research Associate at the Institute for the Danube Region and Central Europe (IDM), Vienna