Europe has, for some time now, found itself at a crucial crossroads, one that has to do with its identity and relationship with the outside world. The question of immigration has been difficult to solve and the EU has often been criticised for its inability to properly answer to the migration crisis effectively and for its lack of a structural approach to integration and reception of immigrants coming from all corners of the world.

According to the European Commission, refugees make up for 0.6% of the total EU population, with huge differences in their distribution among Member States. While this number is certainly high in its absolute number (roughly 3 million people) it comes nowhere near the one of other countries such as Lebanon and Turkey, where refugees make up a sizable part of the population both in percentage and absolute numbers. The biggest “refugee holder” in Europe is Germany, with roughly 1.2 million refugees residing in German territory.

The share of migrants staying for work or family related matters is by far the biggest, at 56% of the total, showing that immigration is mostly fuelled by the two aforementioned factors, while asylum makes up 9% of the total and education a mere 3%.

History has taught us that immigration is an influential phenomenon and its effects can be either beneficial or devastating, depending on the approach taken to handle them. One thing is clear, when relocating to another country immigrants and refugees bring much more than their belongings with them: their knowledge, culture, language, and sometimes genius can be a vital asset for the place receiving them, and it is only up to Europe to make good use of it.

Under EU law, asylum seekers are the responsibility of the first Member State they manage to get into, leaving the responsibility for processing and managing their asylum requests to that single Member State.

When integration is concerned, Member States have full competence over many areas which are arguably important in the process such as citizenship, education, and access to the welfare system, making them arguably a key player in the integration of migrants into European society.

Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) are an important player, as these organisations play a vital role in gathering information, influencing public opinion as well as politicians and institutions. Some have been accused of financially benefiting from the situation by exploiting migrant routes as well as the visibility their action brought with them. Some examples of NGOs that operate in the Mediterranean are Mediterranea and Proactiva Open Arms.

The European Union has played an increasingly important role as far as immigration is concerned mostly with the Directorate General for Migration and Home Affairs (DG HOME). This branch of the European Commission is tasked with harmonising Member States’ migration and asylum policies, as well as promoting dialogue and cooperation with neighbouring countries.

Similarly, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) has the purpose of providing support and cooperation between Member States who border non-EU countries. Its operations include rapid response, training and development of best practises in migration-related matters.

Non-EU countries and “neighbours” also have a role in the immigration entering the EU: countries from which migration originates can have a big role into the relocation or identification of undocumented migrants, depending on how willing they are to cooperate with EU institutions; neighbouring states (such as Turkey and Morocco) have struck deals with the EU in order to contain migration and as a consequence have gained significant negotiation power as well as funding and relevance due to the political and geopolitical implications of migration.

When looking at the past, one major conflict that emerged was between recipient countries (most notably Italy, Greece and Malta) and other EU members (most notably the Visegrád Group and Nordic countries) over the relocation scheme of migrants, deemed necessary by the former due to the overwhelming pressure of the 2015 migrant crisis.

Conflict also erupted between EU institutions and non-EU neighbouring countries over their use of migrants as a geopolitical tool: the deals the EU has with those countries have only worsened the problem and do not offer a long-term solution, as the situation between the Polish-Belarusian border has clearly shown. In the past few months the Belarusian government has (not so allegedly) been fabricating a migrant crisis at its border with Poland, by forcibly “shipping” migrants to the border and pushing them into crossing into Poland. This move has been seen as a way of applying pressure on the eastern border of the European Union, as a means of destabilising the already tense relationship some eastern countries have with Brussels. Russia has been seen as the puppeteer behind this geopolitical stunt, as the Belarusian state is often considered its only true European ally.

NGOs have also found themselves into serious controversy, especially in Italy and Malta, due to their sea-rescue actions which, according to detractors, only worsened the problem of irregular migrants crossing the Mediterranean by creating the so-called “Pull Effect”.

The so-called “Pull Effect” is based on the belief that the people crossing the Mediterranean simply would not embark on such a perilous journey, had it not been for the presence of European ships ready to save them in case of a shipwreck. Some politicians have gone as far as to call NGO ships as the “taxis of the seas”, clearly tying them with the human traffickers who exploit their desperation for profit.

This section highlights different EU policies and legislation regarding migration and asylum

• Dublin III Agreement: this piece of legislation aims at setting the responsibility for the processing of asylum requests as well as other criteria regarding migration,

• Article 67(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU): this article states the EU ‘shall frame a common policy on asylum, immigration and external border control, based on solidarity between Member States, which is fair towards third-country nationals. However, the term “common” does not always reflect the legal and political situation.

• New Pact on Immigration and Asylum: this proposal by the European Commission aims at developing and enhancing the current immigration system of the EU, by highlighting the need for solidarity, resilience and flexibility of all actions related to migration.