Six months after the COVID-19 pandemic swept through Europe, migration is back on everyone’s agendas. But did it ever go away? As the European Commission prepares to present its new pact on migration and asylum over the next few weeks, this Dossier reflects on what can be learnt so far from the impact of the worst global health crisis in a century on migration flows and policies.
Why haven’t irregular arrivals to Europe decreased as much as expected? How is Europe gearing up to deal with regular migration in a world in which borders have become harder to cross? Is involuntary immobility the new normal for the world’s most vulnerable populations? And what can and should multilateral institutions do in order to make global migration governance fit for a post-pandemic world?