1. Our work on the entry policies shows that European policymakers have nearly exclusively focussed on blocking the unauthorized entry of asylum seekers coming from the south (Libya-Italy), south¬east (Middle East, Turkey), and from the east (for instance Poland) with increasingly harsh methods, while for high skilled Western migrants the options were multiple. Avoiding human rights abuses, and more attention to legal pathways are needed (Jeandesboz, 2020).
2.Our work on exit policies includes deportation regimes, assisted voluntary return programs, and re-integration policies in the countries of origin. It was surprising to find out that assisted voluntary return accompanied by long-term re-integration in the country of origin receives less funding and support in EU countries than forced removal, while they seem more cost-effective. Instead, we found consistently increased investment in forced removal without any evidence that it increases the effectiveness of the claimed purposes of such measures (Kalir & Dybdahl Jensen 2021).
3. Work on seasonal and temporary migration in the agricultural sector in Spain, Poland, Germany and the Netherlands shows how the bad working and housing conditions in this sector further deteriorated during the COVID pandemic (Matusz & Aivaliotou 2021).
4. Work on refugees in Greece, Turkey and Lebanon has shown that the conditions in which refugees live in camps, fail to meet any of the humanitarian standards that are laid out by the UN principle of protection, as regulated by the Spheres Standards. The three reports show how the situation deteriorated further during COVID-19. This needs the attention of policymakers (Pallister-Wilkins & Papataxiarchis, 2022)
5. Interviews with refugees who traveled toward Greece and Italy show the terrible conditions that they encounter on the way. For instance, on the south-eastern route in Iran and Turkey they can get shot, detained, and deported (particularly Afghans); while those on the southern route might be robbed, tortured to extract ransom, and even enslaved in Libya. We conclude that these migrants have no other choice than to risk their lives again, and move on through the Mediterranean Sea, to reach a safer environment. When signing deals with countries outside Europe, it is important to take this into account (Linekar & Achilli, 2022).
6. Work on the aspirations of potential migrants and people in transit in Turkey, Lebanon, Ethiopia, and Mali has shown that there is room for improvement to make development interventions sustainable in a long-term perspective in such a way that they would limit migration. If a legal status and livelihood options are lacking and suppression of human rights remains a problem, onward migration is for many interviewees the only way out (Kuschminder & Rejabzadeh, 2022).
