New Perspectives on Irregular Migration in Europe

In cooperation with six other EU-funded research projects on irregular migration, the team of the "MIrreM" project is launching a joint webinar series on irregular migration. It will be live-streamed and subsequently available on this Youtube channel.

The first webinar “New perspectives on irregular migration in Europe” will be held on October 18^th 2023 at 13:00-14:15 CEST, and it will present key goals and activities of three research projects about the living and working conditions of irregular migrants in Europe.

In this webinar, we will discuss different ways of how to think about ‘migrant irregularity’, how irregular migration is embedded and shaped by broader societal developments and how new research approaches can help foster a better understanding of the phenomenon and ultimately provide new avenues for policy change and for improving irregular migrants’ conditions.

Speakers include: Albert Kraler (University for Continuing Education Krems – MIrreM project), Tesseltje de Lange (Radboud University - DignityFirm project), Martin Ruhs (European University Institute – PRIME project) and Nando Sigona (University of Birmingham, I-CLAIM project). Moderated by Michele LeVoy (PICUM, MIrreM and DignityFirm). 

To join the webinar, please register here.

If you want to find all project resources in one single place, visit the website www.irregularmigration.eu.

1 December 2023, 13:00-14:15 CET | online (registration)

 "Moving forward on Improving Migrant Worker Rights? Key Discussions Recasting the Single Permit Directive"

Irregular migration is an important feature of the political economy of migration and associated patterns of legal, social and economic inequality in Europe and elsewhere. In 2022, the European Commission tabled a proposal for a recast of the Single Permit Directive (SPD) was tabled.

The aims of this recast were twofold: 1) to simplify and clarify its scope, and 2) to improve migrant workers’ protection from exploitation. To this end, in March 2023 members of the European Parliament adopted amendments towards substantial improvement of the protection of migrant workers, for example in respect of the right to change employer. The Council however, was reluctant to improve migrant workers’ rights vis-à-vis employers. Research shows (De Lange et al 2022, Weatherburn 2023) that the single permit, for its lengthy procedures, dependency on employers, and lack of complaint mechanisms obstructs migrant workers’ protection and their long-term prospects. The SPD recast could mean a move forward improving migrant workers’ rights. Understanding the Directive and its opportunities and pitfalls allows us to better understand how to protect migrant worker rights and – the theme of our series – how to avoid regularly staying labour migrants shift into irregular migration status. During the lunch webinar experts will discuss the recast of the SPD by delving into key topics debated, like the right to change employer and procedural challenges.    

Participants:

Diane Angemüller, Head of Unit, DG Migration & Home Affairs, Legal Pathways and Integration,

Shane Murphy, Policy Advisor to Mr. Javier Moreno Sánchez MEP special rapporteur for the Single Permit Directive;

Amy Weatherburn, Post-doctoral fellow, Centre de Droit Européen et Institut d’Études Européennes, Université Libre de Bruxelles ;

Lilana Keith, Programme Officer at PICUM.

Moderated by: Tesseltje de Lange, Professor of European Migration Law, Radboud University of DignityFirm project)