EU leaders must finally begin to address the root causes of the migration crisis

EU leaders met on the 23 September 2015 to discuss how best to tackle the root causes of Europe’s migration crisis. Open Europe’s Stephen Booth and Pawel Swidlicki argue that the EU’s response so far has been back to front in seeking to address the symptoms without first agreeing on a long-term strategy. They conclude that the crisis is multi-faceted with a number of different components – the acute crisis of the Syrian refugees has compounded the chronic challenges of asylum seekers from Africa and the Western Balkans. As such it will require a range of policy responses as opposed to a one-size-fits-all solution.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: Informal meeting of heads of state or government, Brussels, 23 September 2015 http://www.europeansources.info/record/informal-meeting-of-heads-of-state-or-government-brussels-23-september-2015/

Open Europe: Tag: Immigration http://openeurope.org.uk/blog/tags/immigration/

ESO: Information Guide: European Migration Challenges http://www.europeansources.info/record/information-guide-european-migration-challenges/

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