Irregular and illegal migration - political challenges for Europe and the West

Abstract

There is no patent remedy for the chronic refugee and irregular migra tion crisis. War and instability in regions neighbouring Europe – often involving European powers – led to a spike in the number of refugees and irregular migrants trying to reach the continent since 2015. In response, overall EU policy, especially in recent years, has been to try to push people back from the EU’s external borders and to enhance and improve external border protection. In the 2010s, the irregular and illegal mass migration of refugees escalated into a political crisis in Europe; segments of societies lost patience as more migrants arrived illegally in European countries. In the UK, the brutal killing of a Labour MP publicly praised for her work with refugees shocked the nation in 2016. Ten years after the wave of illegal migrants into Europe, there is still a dysfunctionality in trying to tackle irregular illegal immigration and create a common asylum policy system. Several attempts to achieve this goal have already failed. Therefore, the EU is trying to strengthen early warning systems, both internally and through partnerships with third countries. The increase of severe terrorist attacks in 2015 and 2016, and the lethal stab bings and gang fights caused by young migrants in Europe, are still being exploited by extreme right and left-wing political parties that try to link illegal migration with terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism. The aim of this contribution is to outline the challenges of irregular and illegal migration for European stakeholders and to ana-lyse the difficult path taken by European politicians in dealing with this complex situation.