05.12.2016 MIGRATE BUDAPEST KICK-OFF EVENT
CTRL+Enter Europe (MIGRATE) partner institutions are working towards tackling the questions:
- What have been the effects of recent developments, especially of the migrant crisis, on the EU integration process in these countries? Have recent events brought each of these countries closer or further away from the goals of EU enlargement and deepening?
- Could more integration (especially in terms of deepening) offer better responses to the migrant crisis without putting so much pressure on the internal political agenda of the different countries? Could this play the role of a buffer for phenomena such as the ones we experience today and ones that are shaking heavily the foundations of the EU?
The rationale behind the CTRL +Enter Europe (MIGRATE) project is that present day EU policy in tackling the migrant crisis is lacking in cohesion, focus and long term strategy. It is suggested that further EU integration and enlargement, in order to include the Western Balkans and Turkey, might be key to controlling migrants’ influx in the Union. A network of researchers from all the main transit and destination countries of the Balkan corridor are looking at the specific characteristics of the migrant crisis experienced by different countries with different political economies, different relations to the EU, and different levels of exposure to the current crises. All the above within the framework of the effectiveness of EU enlargement and integration. The ultimate goal of this network is not to propose a ‘closed’ Europe, but rather to discuss possible ways of handling this humanitarian crisis while easing the burden off the transit and destination countries during a time of multiple crises. It focuses on the ‘Balkan human corridor’ stretching from Turkey as the entry point, on to Greece, FYROM, Serbia, Hungary, Germany and Austria.
