EU Immigration Policy – In need of public figures who can speak to policymakers, politicians, and publics report says

The European Union has been charged with leading a response to a range of complex and interlinked challenges related to EU immigration and asylum policy, from the short-term need to respond to maritime migration in the Mediterranean, through to the long-term questions about Europe’s future as a diverse, competitive society. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that the current modus operandi of the European institutions is ill equipped to respond in either a timely, or comprehensive manner.

In the wake of the European Council’s Strategic Guidelines on Justice and Home Affairs, and as the European Commission develops a new in-house vision on migration, this policy brief (one in a series focused on future EU immigration policy), assesses the underlying mechanics of policy-making, and identifies areas in which the EU institutions must reform if they are to stand any chance of ensuring that the policy solutions designed this year in Brussels have the desired effect on the ground.

The brief highlights the need for leadership and coordination: it has long been acknowledged that immigration policy is not confined to the Home Affairs domain, yet a coordinated, coherent, and comprehensive approach to migration has yet to emerge either within the EU institutions or in the national capitals. Commitments are needed, both from the political and technical levels, to ensure that migration becomes part of the everyday work of foreign affairs, em- ployment, and other policy areas, and is linked in a more coherent fashion to relevant policies from humanitarian affairs through to education policy.

Aside from more effective coordination, Europe will need the resources to effect real change, both within the European Union, as well as with third countries. This will require a step-change in the level of investments currently envisaged by EU leaders, as well as a change in the types of expertise that will be needed to put new policy into practice. Legislative change has reached a natural plateau, and the next phase of policy will be far more focused on soft diplomacy, practical cooperation, and ensuring that policies agreed at EU level, are implemented effectively (and with sufficient capacity) at national level. This is particularly important for the future development of European asylum systems, and more committed monitoring and evaluation will be needed.

Reform of EU working practices is fraught with difficult choices, and no single mechanism of institutional coordination is perfect. It may also seem a secondary priority at a time when the European Union is being confronted by crisis and instability. Reform takes time to bear fruit—and time is clearly at a premium. But the work must begin now.

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor. Read the whole story at  The Development of EU Policy on Immigration and Asylum: Rethinking Coordination and Leadership | migrationpolicy.org.