EU leaders have agreed to a plan that will provide Libya’s UN-backed government €200 million for dealing with migration. This includes an increase in funding for the Libyan coastguard, with an overall aim to stop migrant boats crossing the Mediterranean to Italy. Based on the perceived policy success of the 2016 EU-Turkey deal on stopping migrant boats reaching Greece from the west coast of Turkey, known as the eastern Mediterranean route, this deal is intended to have a similar effect on the … [Read more...]
Why Don’t Refugees Just Stay in Turkey or Greece? We asked them
Here is a post co-authored with Khalid Koser for the Conversation (re-posted here). It has also been reposted to Time, World Economic Forum, and the Huffington Post. Alkis Konstantinidis/Reuters The European Commission has decided to start returning migrants from other European countries back to Greece, lifting a ban on the practice that was put in place in 2011. The decision is influenced by concerns that 13,000 migrants recently disappeared from camps in Northern … [Read more...]
The Broker Living Analysis- Lack of shared responsibility turns Turkey into gateway instead of safe stay
The Broker is a think net on globalization and development that synthesized and analyzes knowledge and information. They have just conducted a living analysis of the current migration crises in Europe, for which I have contributed a piece on Turkey below. As both the largest host of refugees worldwide and a transit country for refugees travelling to Europe, Turkey is one of the main players in the current refugee crisis. Despite several government services to refugees, … [Read more...]
Understanding the current refugee/migrant crisis in Europe UNU-Merit Panel Discussion
At UNU-Merit/ MGSoG the PhD-Committee organized and hosted a panel discussion on the current refugee crises. The panel was moderated by Zina Nimeh, Assistant Professor and included myself and three other panelists: Melissa Siegel, Associate Professor; Maurice Boon, Dutch Refugee Council; and Mohamed Nour Khatib, Not Just a Number. Mohamed is a Syrian refugee in the Netherlands who started the organization Not Just a Number to bring a human face to Syrian refugees and remind us all that each … [Read more...]
Migrants Arriving in Athens: No Reception and No Place to Go
Greece has received unprecedented migrant arrivals over the past few years, being at the frontline of entry into the European Union. The EU’s Frontex agency has just released new figures showing that the Turkey-Greece border has again become the primary mode of entry into the EU, writes Dr. Katie Kuschminder. … [Read more...]