Brussels ushers in new leadership at the European Parliament in June. Migration, along with defence and the economy, will be a key issue to drive the changes in and for the next five years’ politics. To make sense of a future that this new set of leaders may draw up, it is vital to look back to the last five years’ key events that have shaped the migration narrative in Europe and beyond its borders.

Between COVID-19 and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that triggered the Temporary Protection status; ongoing refugee crises intensified by the fire in Greece’s Moria refugee camp and the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan that drove scores of migrants in the Mediterranean; and finally, the adoption this year of The Pact on Migration and Asylum. ICMPD takes stock at the policy directions and, more importantly, what this means to people – those seeking to reach Europe, those who welcome them and those who ask the question of where we are headed, and those who can potentially enrich the region’s ability to sustain its future.

This extended episode of ICMPD’s Migration Podcast brings together two of our Experts, Hugo Brady and Martin Wagner. They discuss these key events and the policy directions in Brussels, the challenges and opportunities that migration has presented the EU, and the priority actions and policy recommendations that will guide the next five years for the new leaders in Brussels and the rest of the European community.