Every year millions of people dream of living a life of abundance—running water, shelter, security, and safety. Partly due to their home countries’ political realities and decaying social-security systems that often fail to provide these basics. For instance, the highest proportion of immigrants in Europe come from the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia where perpetual conflicts in Syria and Afghanistan, plus Gulf tensions and political turbulence in South Asia, have driven people to flee deprivation in search of a safer life in Europe.
Recent Migration Trends
The exodus of migrants into Europe grows each year: in 2024 there were 911 960 first-time asylum applications, while January 2025 alone saw 66 800 new applicants, up 8 % year-on-year. Whereas, Irregular border crossings fell by 38 % to 239 000 in 2024 Le Monde.fr, and Mediterranean sea arrivals dropped from 270 700 in 2023 to 199 400 in 2024 Carnegie Endowment (including a record 46 843 landings on Spain’s Canary Islands).
Border Controls and Pushbacks
The decrease might indicate that situations beyond Europe have eased, but all is not well. Border controls have stiffened with return hubs and the new Pact on Migration and Asylum. Most people fleeing persecution are now stopped at the border: the 11.11.11 Pushbacks Report 2023 documents 346 004 illegal pushbacks—an average of 947 per day—accompanied by systematic violence, beatings and denial of asylum rights. In 2024, it records 98 687 pushbacks, down from 158 565 in 2022, yet still widespread.
Policy Perspectives
Flor Didden, Migration Policy Officer, 11.11.11, highlights a two edged-sword, one edge is the absence of resettlement programs and workable visa schemes; the other is the proliferation of irregular routes, often run by smugglers due to a lack of legal options. He argues:
“The policy makers should opt for trying to match the need for skilled workers to this migration. I think there could be a good matching should be done there.”
Positive Economic Impacts
A wealth of evidence shows the positive impacts of migration: immigrants in Italy and Spain pay more in taxes than they receive in benefits, yielding a net positive fiscal effect . IMF and OECD analysis finds that immigration bolsters labour markets, raises GDP growth forecasts and supports productivity across Europe.
Integration and Labour Market Access
Didden notes:
“The best way to make migration less visible or less of an issue is to work on integration and access to the labour market and so on.”
- In 2023, 63.0 % of non-EU citizens aged 20–64 were employed compared to 76.2 % of nationals.
- Overall EU employment for that age group reached 75.8 %, the highest since 2009.
This approach aligns with EU legal pathways like the Talent Pool and bilateral labor agreements.
Funding, Legal Pathways, and the New Pact
EU’s new Pact on Migration and Asylum, includes streamlining of procedures, speed up border screening, provision of return hub, and introduce “flexible solidarity” among member states. However, human rights activists and NGOs are skeptical as the Pact prioritizes deterrence and is limiting access to asylum at external borders. Similarly, solidarity can be “bought out” with Member states may opt to pay rather than relocate, undermining genuine burden-sharing .
Challenges of Return Hubs
Didden sees return hubs as hard to operationalize, requiring willing third party host countries and yielding limited throughput compared to overall arrivals. Considering the human cost:
“Impact might be devasting because it’s really outsourcing of responsibility of the EU to other countries where we will have less oversight in when it comes to human rights and the biggest problem with idea of the return hubs is its operationalization at this moment when countries of origin are not cooperating in taking back their citizens.”
He adds:
“A Moroccan, for example, will be sent to a return hub in Albania for a temporary timespan, but then, if Morocco still refuses to accept him, he will be stuck in Albania in sort of a legal limbo situation with no solution in sight.”
Europe stands at the crossroad as without binding relocation quotas or robust legal channels, frontline states (Greece, Italy, Spain) will face renewed pressure, overcrowded reception centres and dire humanitarian conditions reminiscent of Moria. A shift from enforcement-centric to integration-centric policies, for instance, matching migration with labour needs, ensuring legal pathways, reinforcing human-rights safeguards, and adopting genuine burden-sharing, is essential to transform migration into a catalyst for growth and cohesion.
Dear reader,
Opinions expressed in the op-ed section are solely those of the individual author and do not represent the official stance of our newspaper. We believe in providing a platform for a wide range of voices and perspectives, even those that may challenge or differ from our own. We remain committed to providing our readers with high-quality, fair, and balanced journalism. Thank you for your continued support.
