Immigration and the Future of Europe

Throughout 2017, migration-related issues managed to capture the attention of public opinion, as well as becoming one of the most decisive issues at the center of an intense political debate prior to all elections across Europe. Migrations are becoming more and more relevant to public opinion in Europe. Some dynamics, which used to be typical of old immigration countries, are now starting to concern countries with a more recent immigration, as well as countries in transition from being countries of emigration to countries of immigration. Likewise, the importance of the migration phenomenon can be observed within the election programs of the different political parties. The results of the 2017 general elections held in the Netherlands, France, United Kingdom, and Germany provide a picture of the current state of affairs concerning attitudes towards the EU and towards migration. With reference to each of these countries, ISMU has carried out an analysis of the main parties’ electoral programs, precisely focusing on attitudes towards the European Union and attitudes towards migration. It remains to be seen, however, if these issues will manage to become more relevant than the traditional Left-Right political cleavages – which are increasingly being given less consideration by voters and by public opinion. Still, they coexist, and the first tend to affect the latter, making those cleavages either deeper or weaker.