MPI and SPP host migration policy seminar with high-ranking Greek officials
On 13-14 May, the Migration Policy Institute and the CEU School of Public Policy organized a high-level seminar exclusively for members of the Greek government and parliament who face urgent migration-related challenges. As part of the Athens retreat, senior United Nations and European Union officials as well as experts in the field of migration policy contributed their views and facilitated the dialogue, touching upon various migration concerns connected to the current crisis in Greece.
On a technical level, these challenges include the reduction of illegal migration to manageable levels and implementing more effective and refined enforcement mechanisms; managing existing unauthorized populations responsibly; treating migrants with dignity in line with international obligations; addressing the underlying drivers that make illegal migration attractive; and continuing to facilitate the movement of legitimate travelers and trade, both requisite forces for revitalizing a robust economy.
On the political level, the challenge is to perform all these functions well enough to convince anxious and skeptical citizens that the government is in control of migration, while also demonstrating to the international community that progress is being made in the areas that affect Europe the most. Confronting these tasks is particularly vexing in an environment of few resources and growing anti-immigrant sentiment.
In her presentation, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Cecilia Malmström, complimented Greek policy leaders for a number of improvements in the asylum procedures and encouraged them to continue in their efforts for greater coherence and a more pro-active formulation of migration policies. She spoke extensively about practical and political challenges facing Greece in the implementation of its Action Plan on Migration, re-emphasizing the need for a coordinated approach on migration management.
Acknowledging that Greece cannot bear the burden of the current situation alone, another international policy maker stressed that politicians needed to demonstrate that the situation is not only under control but improving. As a priority, resource gaps in the first generation of immigrant reception centers need be closed.
Racist violence and the rise of the far right also featured among the many themes of the two-day seminar. Presentations examined the effect of public opinion on immigration policy and looked closely at the importance of winning public confidence in the context of the myriad challenges facing Greek policymakers. Ministers expressed their views on how to improve the discourse about immigrants and minorities‘ rights and their integration into Greek society.
Financially supported by the Open Society Foundations, the policy retreat represented the starting point for a series of seminars, conferences and workshops with leading migration policy makers in the region.
LIST OF PARTICIPANTS
Alexander Aleinikoff, UN Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees
Maria Åsenius, Head of Cabinet, Cabinet of Commissioner Malmström
Charalambos Athanassiou, Deputy Minister for the Interior, Greece
Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan, Assistant Director, International Program, Migration PolicyInstitute
Michele Cercone, Spokesperson, Cabinet of Commissioner Malmström
Charles Clarke, Former Home Secretary, United Kingdom
Elizabeth Collett, Director, Migration Policy Institute-Europe
Nikos Dendias, Minister of Public Order and Citizen Protection, Greece
Patroklos Georgiadis, Secretary General, Ministry of Public Order and Citizen Protection, Greece
Monica Estrom, Member of Cabinet, Cabinet of Commissioner Malmström
Leila El Fahimi, Member of Cabinet, Cabinet of Commissioner Malmström
Bernhard Knoll-Tudor, Director of Executive Education and Communication, School of Public Policy, Central European University, Budapest
Cecilia Malmström, European Commissioner for Home Affairs
Gregory Maniatis, Senior European Policy Fellow, Migration Policy Institute
Rainer Münz, Member, European Union "Group of the Wise"; Head of Research and Development, Erste Group Bank AG; Senior Nonresident Scholar, MPI and MPI Europe
Pusa Nastase, Program Manager, School of Public Policy, Central European University, Budapest
Matthias Oel, Head of Asylum Unit, DG Home, European Commission
Demetrios Papademetriou, President, Migration Policy Institute and Migration Policy Institute-Europe
Georgios Papanikolaou, Member of the European Parliament
Wolfgang Reinicke, Dean, School of Public Policy, Central European University, Budapest
Jeremy Rosner, Executive Vice President and Principal, Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, United States
Angelos Syrigos, Secretary General, Population and Social Cohesion, Ministry of Interior, Greece
Mavroudis Voridis, Member of Parliament, Greece
Giannis Vroutsis, Minister for Labour, Social Security and Welfare, Greece
Alexandros Zavos, Former president of the Hellenic Migration Policy Institute (HMPI) and President of (NGO) IMEPO
Jenna Althoff, Doctoral candidate, Central European University
