March 7, 2011

Unprecedented flows of migrants are arriving on the EU’s southern
shores following recent political upheaval across North Africa and there
is a fear that many more will come. In this commentary, Yves Pascouau
and Sheena McLoughlin outline three challenges the EU and its Member
States have to cope with: the capacity to protect their borders, the
capacity to respect the human rights of those fleeing persecution, and
the capacity to exercise solidarity. While there is already evidence of
a capacity to react when it comes to securing borders, the authors argue
that Member States will now also have to demonstrate, on the one hand,
an ability to respect human rights when managing large migration flows
from the south, and on the other hand, meaningful solidarity both with
countries in the North African region and with EU countries struggling
to cope with the new arrivals.

Original report: Migratory flows from North Africa – challenges for the EU