Facing the future of migration: German, Swedish, and Danish perspectives

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According to the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) 461 300 applications for international asylum were lodged in EU+ countries in 2020, due to the covid-19 pandemic down by 31% compared to 2019. Future prospects on migration point to a rise in migration rates in a post-covid world. At the same time, the European Commission in February sent Hungary a last warning to comply with EU migration law before taking the matter to the European Court of Justice. With its proposal of a New Pact on Migration and Asylum in September 2020 by the European Commission EU member states are again facing the challenge of striking a deal on a hugely controversial issue. EU Foreign affairs and home affairs ministers on 15 March jointly held a debate via videoconference on the external aspects of the EU’s migration policy. Meanwhile, Denmark has embarked on a policy of disincentivizing asylum-seekers of coming to Denmark, and in Sweden a more restrictive migration law has been proposed by the government.

Looking at Germany, Sweden, and Denmark, each of these three states have differed in their approaches and experiences in dealing with the migration policy dilemma, with the migration issue reaching new political heights following the 2015 migrant crisis.

What can we learn from each state’s experiences in the migration policy arena, and in what direction might attitudes and migration policies in each state be heading? What impact might developments on the EU and EU neighborhood level have on developments in these three states, and might the developments in these three states affect developments on the EU level?

We welcome you to join our live discussion on Zoom! A recorded version of the discussion will later be shared on the KAS Nordic Countries Project YouTube channel.

A participation link will be sent out upon confirmation of registration. Register your attendance by clicking here.

PROGRAM
16:00 Opening and Welcome
Gabriele Baumann, KAS Resident Representative to the Nordic countries.

Speakers’ Input
- Dr. Bernd Parusel, political scientist and migration expert at The Swedish Migration Agency.
- Dr. Jan Schneider, Head of Research Unit at The Expert Council on Integration and Migration (SVR) gGmbH.
- Assoc. Prof. Karen Nielsen Breidahl, Associate professor at the Department of Politics and Society at Aalborg University.

Manfred Schüler, Deputy Head of the German Embassy Stockholm, will moderate the discussion.

Hier finden Sie das Programm zum Download: Program Migrationsgespräch 2021-04-29.pdf