In the fortieth episode of the EU to go podcast, Thu Nguyen is joined by migration researcher Judith Kohlenberger and Lucas Rasche, expert on migration, refugees and human rights, to look at the tension between the EU's isolation strategy and the shortage of skilled workers. Together, they analyse the reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), the debates on outsourcing asylum procedures to third countries and the political discourse on migration in the run-up to the European elections in June 2024.
In December 2023, after seven years, the Council and the European Parliament agreed on the key points to reform the Common European Asylum System (CEAS). The agreement is considered a major step in European migration policy. The EU is focusing on sealing itself off, and the plans have met with criticism - both from a humanitarian perspective and with regard to the shortage of skilled workers in Europe. The EU urgently needs skilled workers from abroad and is trying to recruit them with more and more initiatives.
In this episode, Thu Nguyen talks to Judith Kohlenberger, migration researcher at the Institute for Social Policy at the Vienna University of Economics and Business and Associate Policy Fellow at the Jacques Delors Centre, and Lucas Rasche, expert on migration, refugees and human rights at Misereor, about the dilemma of European migration policy between sealing off and recruiting. They ask themselves: How practicable is the planned CEAS reform? Why are ideas for outsourcing asylum procedures to third countries problematic? How attractive are EU member states really for qualified skilled workers? And finally: What influence will the current anti-migration rhetoric in the political debate have on the upcoming European elections?
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