Current Geopolitical Affairs
The Greek Coast Guard forcibly pushing overcrowded rubber boats with refugees back to Turkish waters. The Bosnian refugee camp Lipa that is shut down – in the middle of winter – after which 1700 migrants have to survive in the open air. Or the hellish fire in Moria refugee camp. The degrading conditions on the outskirts of the European Union make it clear that the current state of affairs in European asylum and migration policy is not justifiable.
The European Commission proposed a Migration Pact last September, started under the German Presidency of the European Union. In this Webinar Monika Sie Dhian Ho will address the question; “How to reach a European agreement for an effective and humane asylum and migration policy?”
Covid-19 is causing – in addition to a health crisis – an unparalleled global economic recession, leading to even greater inequality between the rich and the poor. The current corona crisis therefore also appears to be turning into a migration crisis; Due to the ever-increasing unemployment, more and more middle-class families are also venturing the dangerous crossing from North Africa to the European mainland, in search of a more humane existence. A pact is therefore more urgent than ever.
Because the rules for the spreading of accommodating asylum seekers, in principle represent a disproportionate task for the southern member states. Due to the lack of control over migration, (also see the large secondary flows of incomplete or unregistered asylum seekers who travel on to the Netherlands after arriving in one of the Southern Member States), and the many third-country migrants without a residence permit who do not return to their country of origin. And because of untapped opportunities for legal migration for study and work and strengthening the migration relationship with third countries, based on a shared interest in controlled migration.
What should a common European migration and asylum policy look like? And what are the most important geopolitical choices on the agenda? Monika Sie Dhian Ho speaks about the risks and opportunities of the migration pact, for Europe and the migrants themselves.
Monika Sie Dhian Ho is director of Clingendael – the Netherlands Institute for International Relations in The Hague. She studied and taught political science at Erasmus University Rotterdam and was assistant professor of International Political Economy and International Relations at Leiden University.
This is an English online lecture. Admission is free, reservation required. One day prior to the lecture, you will receive a link to view the lecture.
This lecture is a collaboration between Studium Generale and the Netherlands Society for International Affairs.
