A Syrian refugee living in Germany, Shaza Al Rihawi is deeply involved in the promotion of human rights. She is a member of several refugee rights organizations and is also working on a research project that seeks to analyze the process of integration of young migrants within the education system and society in Germany. She shares with us her views on public policies for the integration of migrants and refugees and the main challenges they face in the EU, especially women.

Led by the Polish Institute of Public Affairs and coordinated by the Migration Policy Group, the "National Integration Evaluation Mechanism" (NIEM) is a transnational research project aimed at promoting the integration of refugees into European societies. It consists in assessing the impact of legislative and policy developments, but also in identifying challenges and good practices in the project partner countries. France terre d'asile is in charge of the evaluation for France.

Alain Le Cléac'h shares his point of view on the coronavirus epidemic and its consequences on the rights of migrants in France, and on what it implies in terms of European migration policy.

The pandemic seems to have put everything on hold: the arrivals of migrants in Europe, their movement between Member States which have closed their borders, even the exercise of the right of asylum in countries such as France, which have gone as far as to close its registration offices for asylum seekers. And almost the debate on these issues. The decline of the epidemic is a good time to take stock.

The EU Member States have had to face up to the challenge of the reception of asylum seekers for a number of years now. Although supporting them is crucial, there is a huge contrast in the way this actually happens from one country to another. The degree of solidarity shown by governments when it comes to sharing responsibilities fairly within the bloc is also far from uniform.

The first Ankerzentren were set up in 2018 at the instigation of the German Minister of Interior Horst Seehofer. They are designed to speed up the processing of asylum applications and to make it easier both to send rejected asylum seekers home and to transfer those placed under the “Dublin” procedure to other countries. These reception centres are the only ones of their kind in Europe and might inspire other Member States. However, a year and a half after they were set up, there is a great deal of criticism which is bringing the justification for their introduction into question.

Asylum became a European competence in 1999 and has gradually become the subject of a legislative framework thanks to the introduction of the Common European Asylum System. However, since 2015, European policies in this area have shown their limits, leading to a reform process which has still not come off. At a time when the new European commission is setting out its objectives for a new common asylum policy, is reform still possible?

Through the implementation of various activities - from initial reception services to the promotion of integration - the Greek Refugee Council seeks to inform about their rights and support the largest number of asylum seekers and refugees on Greek territory. It has become one of the major associations in the field of asylum in Greece and has helped more than 125,000 beneficiaries since its creation in 1989.