Berlin – ESI at public debate: "Problem Solved? - How to tackle the Refugee Crisis and Migration to the EU"

Nadan Petrovic, Sylke Tempel, Andreas Nick, and Gerald Knaus. Photo: ESI

ESI's Gerald Knaus participated in a public debate organised by the Berlin Policy Journal, Deutsche Gesellchaft für Auswärtige Politik, and Stiftung Mercator.

The refugee crisis of summer 2015 is still haunting Europe and has proven a highly controversial topic within the European Union. While the EU-Turkey Agreement on refugees in March 2016 defused the immediate crisis and led to the closure of the "Balkan route," refugees and migrants are perishing in the Mediterranean on a daily basis in a desperate attempt to reach Italy. Why is a European solution for dealing with refugees, and migration in general, so difficult to achieve? What can be done to address the root causes? What shape could a European solution take?

Speakers:

Gerald Knaus
Founding chairman, 
European Stability Initiative (ESI)

Andreas Nick, MP
German Bundestag (CDU/CSU) 

Nadan Petrovic
Migration expert; Professor at La Sapienza University, Rome

Chair:

Sylke Tempel
Editor-in-Chief, Berlin Policy Journal

• European Policy Journal, European Encounters: "We Need More Amsterdam in Sicily" (3 July 2017)
• Video interview: EenVandaag, "Bedenker Turkije-deal: Maak afspraken met Nigeria" ("Architect of the Turkey deal: make arrangements with Nigeria") (14 June 2017)
• ESI proposals for the refugee crises in the Central Mediterranean and the Aegean: www.esiweb.org/refugees
• Media reactions to ESI refugee proposals

Recent ESI presentations on this issue:

• Rome – Lecture at Nato Defense College on the Western Balkans and meetings on EU asylum and border policy (8 June 2017)
• Berlin – ESI at the Think 20 Summit "Global Solutions" (29 May 2017)
• Athens – "Europe's Borders: Security, Migration, Human Rights" (22 May 2017)
• The Hague – "Human Act or Devil's Pact? Human rights aspects of migration agreements between EU and third countries" (18 May 2017)
• Brussels – ESI at the Think Global Day: "Fortress Europe: closed or open?" (16 May 2017)
• Rome – ESI presentation: Italy, Germany and the Mediterranean a proposal to save lives, the refugee convention and liberal Europe (12 May 2017)
• Camden – ESI at the Camden Conference: Germany, Europe, and the politics of refugee protection (18 February 2017)

ORF interview with Gerald Knaus after the event. Photo: ESI

On 14 June, ESI met with Austrian President Alexander van der Bellen to discuss EU asylum and migration policy:

Kristof Bender, Gerald Knaus, and President Alexander van der Bellen. Photo: ESI