by Ginevra Cerrina Feroni, Veronica Federico, Renato Ibrido | University of Florence
A selection of the papers discussed in the occasion of the RESPOND conference “Unpacking the challenges & possibilities for migration governance”, held in Cambridge, Newnham College, 17-19 October 2019, has been recently published in a special issue on n.4/2020 of the Italian open access journal DPCE online, accessible at…
Read Moreby Ivan Josipovic | Austrian Academy of Sciences
The reception of asylum seekers and their integration have been hotly debated topics in European Member States since the Long Summer of Migration in 2015. On day two of the RESPOND Conference 2020 (November 21st) we held an online session on the reception and integration regimes in Austria, Germany Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Alexander-Kenneth Nagel and Ayhan Kaya moderated a fruitful discussion between four experts who are professionally active in the field of asylum and immigrant support…
Read Moreby Bianca Gazzi (intern) | University of Florence
In response to the COVID-19 emergency, many countries have taken severe measures to prevent the spread of the virus. Because of the state of emergency, these measures, although legitimate and necessary, restrict some fundamental human rights. In this context, the European Commission and other several actors, such as UNHCR and WHO, published…
Read Moreby Mattia Collini | University of Florence
While most of the world is now fighting an invisible enemy, the category of invisibles has also expanded beyond microbial things. Among, these, at least in Italy, we find migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. Migration was a hot topic in Italian politics and media, however, with the explosion of the COVID-19 outbreak, this issue, as well as practically all ‘ordinary’ ones we were used to, suddenly disappeared, with the whole public, and political attention - understandably - focused on the virus…
Read Moreby Andrea Catani | University of Florence
On 23 September 2019, in Valletta (Republic of Malta), Germany, France, Italy and Malta – in the presence of the Finnish Presidency of the Council of the EU and of the European Commission – drafted an agreement, entitled “Joint declaration of intent on a controlled emergency procedure – voluntary commitments by Members States for a predictable temporary solidarity mechanism”, known as “the Malta agreement”. This is neither an EU legal act nor an international agreement, but a simple “joint declaration” signed at an informal summit by a small number of EU Member State’s Prime Ministers, and yet, as it produces effects on people’s lives, having a better understanding of what it is about is relevant.
The main commitment stated in the agreement (paragraph 1) is to “set up a more predictable and efficient temporary solidarity mechanism in order to ensure the dignified disembarkation of migrants taken aboard, on the high seas, by vessels in a place of safety”.
Read Moreby Andrea Terlizzi | University of Florence
The book Health systems and immigration: A comparative analysis edited by Ginevra Cerrina Feroni investigates how health systems in Europe function in relation to the migration phenomenon. The study includes countries adopting different models of health systems: Anglo-Saxon (United Kingdom), Bismarckian (France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the Netherlands), Southern European (Italy, Spain, and Greece) Eastern European (Hungary), and Scandinavian (Sweden and Denmark). In terms of financing, these countries essentially belong to the Beveridgean national health service (NHS) and the Bismarckian social health insurance (SHI) types of system.
Read MoreThe EC-funded international research project “RESPOND: Multilevel Governance of Mass Migration in Europe and Beyond” calls for human-rights responses to the explosive situation at the refugee camp “Moria” and in the Aegean region.
After another fire in which a woman was burnt to death, on Sunday 29 September 2019, the inhuman and volatile situation of the “hot-spot” Moria on the Greek island, Lesbos attracted further worldwide publicity. The woman’s death on Sunday was the third in the last two months.
Read Moreby Andrea Terlizzi & Mattia Collini | University of Florence
The second RESPOND roundtable of the Italian Migration Governance Network was held on the 2nd of July at the University of Florence, eight months after the first one. On that occasion, the purpose was to discuss some key issues relating to the governance of the migration phenomenon in Italy. In particular, the discussion revolved around three main migration policy areas: border management, reception, and integration policies. Participants were encouraged to share different points of view and approaches and were free to raise new reflections.
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