Refugee movements from Syria and the region to Europe will continue and economic migrations will rise but Europe should open channels rather than build walls, said Professor Philippe Fargues, Director of the Migration Policy Centre, European University Institute, Florence (Italy), at a seminar organised Tuesday in Luxembourg by the EIB Institute.

People have smuggled into Europe for more than 25 years but the current flow of refugees is “unprecedented in magnitude” with close to 600 000 people having risked their lives (25 700 deaths between 2000 and 2015) to come to Europe since the beginning of the year compared to  40-50 000 a year between 1998 and 2013, Professor Fargues explained to a full house. This is “clearly a refugee crisis”, with 73% of the migrants claiming political asylum in 2015 compared with one third before the Arab Spring. The flow of refugees is stemming from the deterioration of the situation in Syria as well as that of the welcoming capacity of the countries of first asylum in the Middle East (Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey) where more than 4 million refugees are now living compared to 343 600 in Europe, he added. The Syrian situation has “unlocked the situation for Afghans and Eritreans”.

Coming against a backdrop of unemployment and low economic growth, migration is Europe’s main issue according to opinion polls, but in its recent history Europe has absorbed bigger numbers of refugees (12.5 million in Germany after WWII alone) and the current movements could benefit the economies and demographics of the Old Continent, Professor Fargues concluded.

Click here for presentation.