About: immigration
Why do foreign investors leave Bulgaria as if it were the Titanic?
Despite being one of the most beautiful countries in the European Union, despite having talented and educated people, despite a favourable tax environment, Bulgaria is likely to stay as the poorest in the EU, and to continue losing its population, writes Blaga Thavard.
Angela Merkel’s legacy in the Middle East
German Chancellor Merkel's momentous 2015 decision to accept asylum-seekers from the region fell flat: the Chancellor did not rise to the occasion and chart a new course for both Europe and the Middle East, writes Faisal Al Yafai
Brussels must bite the bullet on a common EU migration policy
The EU Commission is soon to re-enter the conflict over immigration. Whether it will do so timidly or in a blaze of political courage remains to be seen when it unveils ideas for a 'European Labour Authority," writes Giles Merritt.
Europe’s new far-right should admit Muslim migrants can benefit the continent
At a time of challenge, Europe still has what some might think is a surprising ace up its sleeve – immigration, writes Maha Akeel.
Blocked humanity
The Dublin regulation, allocating asylum claims to the first port of call on a migrant's journey, is unfit for purpose. The European Parliament has come to a shared position that guarantees fair treatment of refugees and shared responsibility in the EU. Now it's up to member states to do their share, writes Cornelia Ernst.
Babiš searches for international allies in anti-immigration course
The electoral victory of Czech politician Andrej Babiš, who based his campaign on opposition to refugee migration, is causing concern. While critics condemn his stance, he searches for allies in Eastern Europe and beyond. EURACTIV's media partner "Der Tagesspiegel" reports.
Migration and Europe: The view from Turkey
European governments seem to be treating Turkey like a game on a football pitch, pushing the ball of inclusion around, but never really having the intention of allowing it to become an equal player on their field, writes Egemen Bağış.
EU politicians should lead EU budget talks, not technocrats
Europe’s political leadership should be the one to take the lead in consultations and the responsibility to speed up individual political decisions on which technocrats will be called upon to adapt financial tools for their achievement, Stavros Kalafatis writes.
Europe needs a strategy that will treat Africa as a ‘true partner’
If Europe does not eradicate the causes that drive so many migrants into the hands of traffickers, then very soon, it will be faced with uncontrolled migratory pressure, writes Gianni Pittella.
Macron, a promise for a new Europe
This 7 May could well mark the birth of a new Europe: becoming empowered, seeking out its true nature while remaining true to itself, taking clear-headed decisions, writes Antoine Ripoll.
The EU debate: So much more than a cost-benefit analysis
The debate over the value of the EU has deteriorated into a tedious cost-benefit analysis of the project. EU leaders and supporters need to transform the discussion and reframe their arguments so as to promote greater public understanding of its benefits, writes Cian McCarthy.
Populist economic policy and how to respond to it
It is crucial to explain to voters what the populist agenda is, why it is misleading and how national governments and the EU can respond, writes Ifo President Clemens Fuest.
The first year of Law and Justice
It's been a tough year since Poland's populist Law and Justice Party (PiS) first took office. Both for Poles, and for the EU. EURACTIV Poland's Editor-in-Chief Karolina Zbytniewska takes a slightly satirical look back.
Votes, hope and fear in Hungary
Liberals deride “Eastern European racism” as a sign of post-Socialist backwardness, and incomplete Westernisation. This framing of the problem overlooks the fact xenophobia is encoded into the political economy of East-West relations, writes Maxim Edwards.
Eastern Europe and Brexit: Avoiding an ‘ever looser union’
In the wake of the Brexit vote, it remains unclear how aware Central and Eastern European countries are about the short and medium-term risks of the UK leaving the bloc and which strategies they should pursue to mitigate them, writes Ivaylo Iaydjiev.
A letter to Angela Merkel from a Berlin Jew
Alternative für Deutschland’s startling second-place in Sunday’s election in Mecklenburg-Pomerania (4 September) has sent shockwaves throughout Germany. The consequences are particularly concerning for the country’s minorities. Joel Schalit writes to Angela Merkel about how to repair the damage.
Human rights: A scapegoat for the ills of Europe
The public debate in the run-up to the Brexit vote was often based on racist and xenophobic resentments that wrongly associated human rights with the rights of minorities, writes Michael O’Flaherty. But human rights are simply not a minority issue. They are for everyone, he argues.
ISIS in Würzburg
Following an axe attack on a Bavarian commuter train on Monday (18 July) by an Afghan asylum seeker claiming allegiance to ISIS, Germany’s news media were awash with reports that the terrorist organisation had finally staged a successful attack. EURACTIV.com news editor Joel Schalit, was almost there.
Brexit would disrupt trade more than previously feared
Previous analyses of the cost of Brexit on the UK economy have probably underestimated the trade disruptive impact because the trade-reducing effect of a squeeze on migration has been overlooked, write Andreas Hatzigeorgiouand Magnus Lodefalk.
Libya: Human rights at risk of being forgotten in the Mediterranean
EU plans to help Libya police its waters should be welcomed cautiously, but we should not ignore the causes of the migration crisis or the plight of those detained in Libya, writes Magdalena Mughrabi-Talhami.
EU leaders should avoid reactionary solutions to refugee crisis
As the refugee crisis continues, EU governments should respond with leadership and avoid knee-jerk reactions, writes Thorbjørn Jagland.
Development is geopolitical
Changing geopolitics has progressively eroded the foundations of the ACP-EU partnership and the bargaining power of both the EU and the ACP Group, writes Rhys Williams.
Little Europe
If we want to transcend the dichotomy between regulated diversity and nationalist reaction, Europeans will have to go beyond mere tolerance. Whether or not this takes place within a common European identity is another question, argues Josh White.