Migration Policy Group Newsletter

Dear ,

The outcome of the Dutch general election last week once more demonstrated how migration dominates the debate across Europe. Meanwhile, mobile voters (mobile EU citizens & naturalised migrants) are still underrepresented in elections and face many barriers that keep them from voting. In this newsletter you will find a new policy brief authored by our Integration Policy Analyst, Sinem Yilmaz on enhancing the electoral participation of mobile voters in the European Parliament Elections 2024.

Earlier this month, news also broke on the agreement between Italy and Albania which intends to transfer people seeking asylum rescued at sea to Albanian territory to wait for their asylum applications to be processed. In an interview with Euronews MPG's Senior Legal Policy Analyst Carmine Conte's warns of differential treatment of asylum applications if the agreement in put to practice.

You will also find an exciting job vacancy for an Office Adminstrator at MPG, a report of the Building Bridges workshops organised by MPG and Whole-COMM earlier this month and an invitation to the final event of the Consulting EUTH project.

Warm regards
Isabelle Chopin, Director of MPG

New Policy Brief: Enhancing Electoral Participation of Mobile Voters in the European Parliament Elections 2024

Everyone should be able to exercise their right to vote. However, mobile voters face many barriers when casting their vote, leading to underrepresentation in local, national and EU elections. This policy brief, by MPG's Integration Policy Analyst Dr. Sinem Ylmaz, provides an overview of academic and policy literature on the electoral participation of mobile voters. It also investigates the main obstacles to voting and presents models and policy options to increase voter turnout among mobile EU citizens, naturalised migrants and their descendants in the 2024 European Parliament elections.

Local stakeholders, researchers, and international actors convene in Brussels to discuss local level integration.

Earlier this month, the Building Bridges workshop organized by Whole-COMM and MPG gathered local stakeholders, researchers, and international actors to discuss recommendations for the integration of migrants in small and medium-sized towns, as well as rural areas. The workshop, which was kicked off by MPG's Dr. Basak Yavcan and Dr. Sinem Yilmaz, emphasized a whole-of-community approach to immigrant integration.

MPG’s Carmine Conte warns of differential treatment of asylum applications in light of Italy – Albania agreement

MPG’s Senior Legal Policy Analyst, Dr. Carmine Conte,, was interviewed by Euronews on the recent agreement between Italy and Albania to transfer people seeking asylum rescued at sea to Albanian territory to wait for their asylum applications to be processed. Carmine pointed out that “there is a risk of differential treatment between asylum applications examined in Italy and those examined in Albania, as this country is not obliged to comply with European asylum legislation”.

SprINg Good Practices Adaptation Toolkit presented in Tallin

Last week MPG's Deputy-Director Alexander Wolffhardt presented the SprINg Good Practices Adaptation toolkit at the Integration Conference in Tallinn organised by Integratsiooni Sihtasutus.
Adapting a good practice to your context is a demanding process. It requires needs-based planning, involvement of peers and resources for experimental implementation and upscaling. The toolkit walks you through this process with 20 questions to ask.

Annual Seminar of the European Network of Legal experts on gender equality and non-discrimination

On December 1st the European Network of Legal experts on gender equality and non-discrimination will hold its annual seminar. MPG's efforts in organising this seminar are part of its more than 20 years of commitment to advancing non-discrimination policies in Europe. The seminar will gather nearly 200 senior national experts from 36 countries, governmental officials, representatives from national equality bodies and representatives from the European Commission (DG JUST and DG Employment) to discuss issues relating to gender equality and non-discrimination and to present the network’s publications. Ana Gallego, Director-General of DG JUST will provide the welcome speech of the seminar and the EU Commissioner for Equality, Helena Dally, will draw conclusions and close the seminar.

Join us at the final event of Consulting EUTH - 5/12/2023

The Consulting EUTH project is focused on addressing the challenges faced by youth migrants and refugees with the aim of enhancing their social inclusion. The project envisions a future where young migrants and refugees play an active role in contributing to societal structures, moving beyond being mere recipients of policies.

As a partner of Consulting EUTH, the Migration Policy Group assembled and trained an EU Consultative Group of Young Migrants. As part of its efforts to engage a wider audience and share insights gained through its work, CEUTH is organizing a final event in Brussels on December 5th 2023.