Migration Policy Centre

New 📢 Local responses to large-scale displacement: insights from Germany, Poland, and Türkiye

How can local governments respond effectively to sudden, large-scale arrivals of displaced people?

We examined three locations across different countries that have experienced intense displacement arrivals and continue to serve as key sites for reception, service provision, and long-term integration.

Despite their different contexts, we identified several common challenges:

🔹Limited administrative capacity
🔹Politicisation of migration debates
🔹Dependence on national and regional frameworks
🔹Fragmented data systems
🔹Unstable funding
🔹Limited academia–policy engagement

Building on engagement between researchers and policymakers, our team developed a series of context-specific experimental actions to strengthen evidence-informed local responses.

Access them here📌https://loom.ly/YFLFRVU

Hein de Haas, author of 'How Migration Really Works', will be the guest speaker at our next seminar!

His research over three decades led to the publication of a book that challenges 22 migration myths from across the political spectrum, revealing that, despite major advances in migration data and research, there is still a need for an entirely new theoretical understanding of human mobility.

On 9 June, Hein de Haas, Professor at the University of Amsterdam and Co-Director of the International Migration Institute, will discuss the importance of conceptualising migration as an intrinsic part of global change and development, and as an inseparable component of broader social transformation processes.

📅 9 June 2026 | Hybrid
👉 11:00 - 12:15 CEST
Save your seat 📌 https://loom.ly/KSBHHkc

As the number of African migrants rises, so too does the level of self-organisation among migrant communities 🤝

In this paper, Amanda Bisong examines how migrant self-organising networks shape African migration governance in both destination and origin countries.

She argues that migrant self-organisation creates alternative spaces for participation and representation, particularly for migrants who are excluded from formal political processes.

➡️ Overall, this perspective contributes to a growing body of scholarship that recognises non-state actors as co-producers of migration governance and transnational development, rather than merely implementers of externally defined agendas.

Learn more 📌 https://loom.ly/EkIQ-r

📄 New | Irregular migrants in : Key challenges and policy options

As Croatia increasingly shifts from a country of emigration and transit to a destination for migrant labour, important gaps in governance are becoming more visible.

Davor Petrić examines how Croatian law, labour market dynamics, and institutional practices shape the rights and living conditions of irregular migrants amid growing labour shortages.

The brief highlights:

- Limited legal protections for irregular migrants
- Gaps between rights “on paper” and rights “in practice”
- Growing risks of labour exploitation and precarious employment linked to labour shortages and administrative barriers

Access the policy recommendations 📌 https://loom.ly/8MErKB0

Migrant around the world continues to unfold in contexts where resources are stretched and coordination is under pressure. Responses depend on political, security and logistical conditions that are often beyond the control of those delivering support.

For , this means difficult, immediate decisions: Who receives protection when access is restricted? How should priorities be set when needs exceed available resources? What does coordination look like when organisations operate under different mandates?

In these situations, sound judgement matters as much as technical expertise.

The 'Effective Migration Governance: Policy Impacts and Trade-Offs' training is designed to support professionals navigating these realities, strengthening decision-making around trade-offs and policy choices in complex environments.

🗓 5–7 October 2026
📍 Florence
Apply and save your seat: https://loom.ly/42Fl2DA

Meet Ayesha Hussain 👋 from Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies (BCDSS)

She participated in our Effective Migration Management training course, but what did she think about it? ❓

Read below to hear her thoughts and click the link to learn more about the 6th edition of this three-day course we organise together with the School of Transnational Governance.

5-7 October 2026 in Florence 👉 https://exed.eui.eu/open-courses/effective-migration-governance-policy-impacts-and-trade-offs

Considering attending the 6th edition of the Effective Migration Governance training?

❗An early bird discount applies to registrations made by 24 July 2026 at 23:59 CEST.

This three-day course is designed for early to mid-career professionals working on asylum and refugee protection, labour migration, migration management, border management, discrimination, displacement, emigration, human trafficking, immigration, integration, social cohesion, and statelessness.

📌 Learn more: https://loom.ly/42Fl2DA

🗓 5–7 October 2026
📍 Florence
This course is organised in partnership with the School of Transnational Governance

“EU law sets the framework, but national institutions determine how that framework functions in practice.”

Even though irregular migrants’ protection remains largely outside the scope of Union law, a range of safeguards emerges from different legal instruments. In this blog, Iris Goldner Lang and Melita Carević delve into the real impact of these safeguards, moving beyond legal texts to examine how national institutions mediate their implementation.

Drawing on a comparative analysis of six countries (Austria, Croatia, Italy, Poland, Sweden, and the United Kingdom), they observe that the effectiveness of these common rules depends both on their formal transposition and on the institutional environments within which they are implemented.

Learn more about the implications these findings have for the future development of EU migration law 📌https://loom.ly/1XwhKi4

A that is coherent on paper can become complex in practice. A measure designed for clarity can produce ambiguity once it is applied across different levels of governance.

That is why policy often changes when it reaches implementation, the moment where administrative systems, legal frameworks, political expectations, and operational capacity all meet, and often do not align neatly.

Those working in government or public administration know decisions are about feasibility, coordination, and consistency under pressure.

Join the Effective Migration Governance training to gain the tools to assess migration trade-offs and incorporate research findings into policy and practice.

➡️ Save your spot: https://exed.eui.eu/open-courses/effective-migration-governance-policy-impacts-and-trade-offs

🗓 5–7 October 2026

📍 Florence