About this study:

This Paper is part of the European Project Improving EU and US Immigration Systems' Capacity for Responding to Global Challenges: Learning from experiences, co-funded by the European Commission and directed by the Migration Policy Center (MPC – Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies – European University Institute, Florence) and its partner institution, the  Migration Policy Institute (MPI). The rationale for this project is to identify the ways in which EU and US immigration systems can be substantially improved in order to address the major challenges policymakers face.

As part of the project, this Paper focuses on how since 2005, we have moved away from purely instrumentalist concern with development as a way of pursuing goals of migration control.

The continued poor quality of data inhibits effective evaluation of this new approach, though it is clear that budgets allocated by EU Member States and the Commission are still relatively small compared to ODA, private remittance flows and especially migration control.

Policy retains a focus on remittance flows; this is understandable since data is best, tangible outcomes are clearest and measurable targets have been set. Yet broader concerns are reflected in some recent approaches and the paper highlights a range of best practice examples. These examples illustrate the change in content of policy, particularly responses to developing technologies and the inclusion of a variety of non-state actors.

For more information about the MPI European Migration Research Project.

This study is available in English only.

Author: Michael Collyer, University of Sussex