Welcome to the February 2026 Edition of the MPG Newsletter!
It has been an encouraging start to the year at Migration Policy Group, marked by strong engagement with policymakers, researchers, and migrant leaders across Europe. This month, our team presented MIPEX 2025 at the European Parliament, sharing evidence on access to employment, education, and the risks of restrictive citizenship policies with Members of the European Parliament. We also published a new policy brief on racial structural discrimination and migrant voice in European democracies, highlighting how deeply embedded barriers continue to shape democratic participation.
Alongside this, we hosted two webinars on political participation and inclusive democracy, and celebrated 19 young leaders who completed our Democracy Academy. Their energy and commitment remind us why this work matters. We also continued contributing to public debate through media engagement andresearch collaborations.
Thank you for being part of our community, and for your continued support as we work together toward more inclusive and equal societies.
MPG presented MIPEX 2025 findings to Members of the European Parliament from Renew Europe, with support from the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom. MPG researchers Başak Yavçan, Alexander Wolffhardt, and Chiara Agrillo shared insights on migrant access to employment and education, and the risks posed by restrictive citizenship policies. MEPs welcomed MIPEX as a vital evidence base. MPG thanks Jan-Christoph Oetjen for making this exchange possible.
A new policy brief by MPG’s New Europeans Initiative reveals how racial structural discrimination continues to block migrants and racialised communities from full political participation across Europe. Authored by Carmine Conte and Anoushka Gautam, the brief finds that unequal citizenship access, limited voting rights, weak representation, and lack of meaningful consultation of racialised communities and migrant-led civil society organisations create a lasting democratic deficit. It calls for citizenship reform, expanded political rights, and stronger support for migrant organisations to build truly inclusive democracies.
Over the past few weeks, MPG has hosted two insightful webinars. If you missed them, you can catch up by watching the recordings. The first webinar presented new EU-wide research on how national policy frameworks influence the political participation of New Europeans across 22 Member States. It highlighted key links between inclusive policies and stronger participation outcomes. The second webinar launched a new policy brief on racial structural discrimination and migrant voice in European democracies. It examined barriers to representation and discussed ways to foster more inclusive political participation across the EU.
Nineteen young migrant leaders successfully completed the 2025 Democracy Academy run by MPG’s New Europeans Initiative. The online programme brought together participants from 10 EU countries for five interactive sessions on advocacy, organising, campaigning, and communications. Of 24 participants, 19 received certificates after completing all sessions, with 100% saying they would recommend the academy. MPG will launch a new edition in the fall 2026, alongside dedicated masterclasses for alumni.
On Monday 9 March at 12:30, a new webinar on temporary protection and future transition pathways, organised by Migration Research to Policy CoLab, our partners in the Innovate project, will take place. This first session opens the Lunch Bites series: a set of concise, one-hour events designed to fit into your lunch break. Each webinar will connect research and policy perspectives, showcase evidence on sustainable transition pathways, and explore future scenarios grounded in both scientific insight and policy expertise.
In February 2026, MPG featured in InfoMigrants on Spain’s migrant regularisation, with Carmine Conte urging safe pathways, and supported an European Commission report by University of Manchester experts on strengthening EU equality law enforcement.
The Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX) is a unique tool which measures integration policies in 56 countries across 8 policy areas. It provides up-to-date, comprehensive research data and analysis on which to base policies, proposals for change and projects. In February 2026, it was featured in 3 articles.
