Bad Ragaz – ESI presents on migration, democracy and European stability at NZZ Academy

25 March 2026
Bad Ragaz. Photo: flickr/kecko
Bad Ragaz. Photo: flickr/kecko

ESI’s Gerald Knaus presented at the Neue Zürcher Zeitung’s NZZ Academy in Bad Ragaz, Switzerland, where senior executives gathered to discuss pressing political and societal challenges. Invited to address migration and its wider implications, Gerald focused on the link between effective migration management and the resilience of democratic systems in Europe.

In his presentation on migration, refugees, and democracy, Gerald argued that the failure to establish credible control puts European democracy in danger. He noted public polls suggesting that the demand for migration control is high across Europe, and the failure to effectively respond to this democratic demand has left space to be filled by identitarian narratives of the anti-European, anti-democratic far-right. He made the case for policies that combine effectiveness with humanity, pointing to the EU–Turkey Statement as evidence that it is possible to sharply reduce irregular arrivals and prevent deaths. Building on this experience, he outlined a proposal for a partnership between the European Union and the United Kingdom to replace dangerous Channel crossings with legal resettlement pathways. Placing migration within a broader geopolitical context, Gerald also stressed that deeper European integration remains essential for securing long-term stability, calling for earlier access to the single market for EU candidate countries as a way to strengthen peace and cooperation across the continent.