With immigration the top political issue in Europe, particularly with the surge of the far right, pressure on governments to keep the numbers down has increased.

And yet several countries, even those with a publicly anti-immigrant stance, are luring foreign workers to fill a large labor void and keep the economies in an aging continent running.

The European Union has identified 42 occupations that face labor shortages and has come up with an action plan to attract foreign workers. Nearly two-thirds of small and medium-sized businesses in the bloc say they cannot find the talent they need.

On the face of it, many European leaders, especially those on the far right, have advocated deals with third countries to curb the entry of immigrants or repatriate them elsewhere. And yet, amid much less fanfare, signs of a policy shift acknowledging the need for immigrants have come to light.

Italy to recruit Indian nurses

Italy's far-right government, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, has decided to recruit hundreds of thousands of foreign workers desperately needed to plug the gaping shortages.

"For the three-year period [from] 2023-2025, the government expects a total of 452,000 entries,'' the Italian government said last year, also admitting it is much less than the "detected need of 833,000'' workers over that period of time. 

According to the IDOS Study and Research Center, Italy needs 280,000 foreign workers annually until 2050 to meet the labor shortfall in various sectors such as agriculture, tourism and health care — about half the number of asylum applications filed last year. The country faces labor shortages in 37 occupations, with nurses and other health care professionals in the most demand.

The government recently announced it will recruit 10,000 nurses from India to help make up a shortage that is three times that much. Italian Health Minister Orazio Schillaci said in October that India has an oversupply of nurses. "There are 3.3 million nurses" in India, he said. "We want to bring here about 10,000."

Schillaci said the Indian nurses are professionally capable and will be recruited directly by Italian regions and placed wherever needed, once their ability to speak in Italian has been determined.

Maurizio Ambrosini, a professor of sociology and a migration expert at the University of Milan, told DW that Meloni's government has been compelled to change policy by employers who are in desperate need of workers.

"Italian employers were very silent on the migration debate for years. I suppose they didn't want a battle with the right-wing parties,'' he said over the phone. "But no longer."

Many, even in her own coalition, see the policy as a strong reversal from Meloni, who once referred to pro-immigration policies as part of a left-wing conspiracy to “replace Italians with immigrants."

"I hoped now that we finally have a right-wing government the situation would change, but the right is getting worse than the left,'' said Attilio Lucia, a member of the far-right League party and the deputy mayor of Lampedusa, a tiny island that is the arriving port for many migrants.

Netherlands wants to retain 'knowledge migrants'

Businesses may have also affected the thinking in the new Dutch government led by far-right lawmaker Geert Wilders' Freedom Party. 

ASML, the country's largest company that manufactures semiconductor equipment, has said its success depends on talented people, wherever they come from. The company has suggested that inbound migration must not be restricted. Nearly 40% of the company's employees are foreign workers. 

"We have built our company with more than 100 nationalities," Christophe Fouquet, ASML's CEO,  said at the Bloomberg Tech Summit in London last month. "Bringing talent from everywhere has been an absolute condition for success, and this has to continue."

The Netherlands has sought an exemption or an "opt-out'' from the EU asylum system, which treats asylum as "a fundamental right and an international obligation for countries." Media reports have suggested that high anti-immigrant rhetoric perpetuated by the far right has made skilled workers feel less welcome in the country.

But even the far-right political groups must grapple with the reality of just how much the companies need foreign workers to stay competitive. 

The Netherlands has only marginally reduced the tax incentive for foreign workers — from 30% to just 27%. This tax break has been among the most attractive features for talented youth to move to the country, or "knowledge migrants" as the government calls them.

"This is a relatively small change in the total net income of highly skilled foreign workers," said Lisa Timm, a researcher on migration at the University of Amsterdam, "I think it will have a negligible effect on migrant arrivals."

Germany introduces 'Opportunity Card'

Germany is on course to issue 200,000 visas to skilled workers this year, a 10% increase from 2023. This is due to an "Opportunity Card" scheme, residence permits that allow workers from countries outside the EU to come to Germany and seek employment, introduced in June.

On a recent visit to India, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany is "open for skilled workers" and agreed to smooth out bureaucratic hurdles and increase visas for Indians from 20,000 to 90,000 annually. 

Germany needs around 400,000 new skilled employees a year to cover worker shortages, especially in the fields of engineering, IT and health care, and sees a potential workforce in trained Indians.

On the other hand, the rise of the far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) in regional elections and a knife attack in the western German town of Solingen over the summer compelled Scholz to sign off on internal border checks in the EU "to curb migration."

Speaking on the issue in July, Scholz said irregular migration to Germany must "come down" but also stressed the country's need for skilled foreigners.

A public and a silent policy

Nearly all European countries face the same problem — labor shortages in an aging population. Despite an influx of immigrants, they don't want to appear to be allowing for migrant arrivals without visas. 

Ambrosini, the University of Milan professor, said European countries are having trouble reconciling two different immigration policies, one for public consumption that calls for "border enforcement agreements with transit countries like Tunisia, or deportation to external facilities like Italy's Albania agreement.

"On the other hand, it is becoming clearer that they need workers, and they are coming up with new policies to attract a workforce that is not only skilled but also seasonal workers," he said. "This second policy is kept a bit hidden, not too much publicized, and can be visible only to the employer associations."

In the end, it's about the governments being able to say they are in control of who is coming in and who gets to stay, said Ambrosini. But that's a myth, at least regarding blue-collar jobs, since employers receive references from those already in Europe for whom to hire.

"How will the employer know who to get from Peru, for instance?"

Edited by: Davis VanOpdorp

In Germany, the topic of migration is political dynamite. According to an October 2024 survey from online portal Statista, about 35% of participants rated the topic of "migration, asylum and foreigners" as the most important societal problem in Germany — more than those who were most concerned about the economy or climate change. Across Europe, the rhetoric around migration has sharpened.

This topic is front of mind for Vit Novotny. He researches migration at the Wilfried Martens Center for European Studies, a Brussels-based think tank which is aligned with the conservative European People's Party. "There are few topics for which public opinion and the facts are so far apart," he told DW. As an expert on migration, he spends a lot of time battling false claims with facts and figures.

The chair of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, Nathalie Delapalme, also sees this as a major task. The Frenchwoman has been working in Africa-Europe relations for many years. "These misunderstandings lead to political decisions which are not suitable for the actual challenges," she said.

These are five common assumptions about migration from Africa which, according to the data, are either false or must be considered in a more nuanced way.

'All African migrants want to come to Europe'

Increasing numbers of people from Africa are indeed leaving their home countries. According to the latest UN study, the number of African migrants increased by 30% between 2010 and 2020.

However, most, about 80%, remain on the African continent. The vast majority move to neighboring countries or to regions that are experiencing rapid economic growth, such as West Africa or South Africa, to look for work there. Relatively few people attempt to find new homes in Europe.

'Africa is a continent in crisis especially affected by migration'

This claim demands a look at the big picture. According to the UN, the total number of African migrants in the year 2020 was 40.6 million. This equates to 14.5% of the worldwide total.

This is significantly smaller than the proportion from Asia (41%) or from Europe (22.5%). That means that more migrants came from European or Asian countries than from African ones.

'Most African migrants are fleeing war and poverty'

Although Europe takes in many asylum-seekers from Africa, most migrants come to Europe for economic reasons, such as to study or work, or to reunite with family. According to the United Nations refugee agency, only 8% of African migrants in the EU are refugees. And about nine out of 10 migrants travel to Europe legally: by plane, not aboard a smuggler's boat.

"If we had to choose a picture of an African who is coming to the EU," said migration expert Novotny, "it is more likely to be one of someone waiting at the airport gate with their passport and ticket in hand."

'Migration of skilled workers will lead to a brain drain for Africa'

In September, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Kenyan President William Ruto signed a labor and migration agreement. It will allow for about 250,000 skilled workers — among them doctors, bus drivers and engineers — from Kenya to come to Germany. The agreement is designed to ease the pressure Germany is facing from its skilled labor shortage due to an aging population. In turn, the young, eager Kenyan workers will be able to find positions that are scarce in their home country.

But what do African countries think when their qualified young adults emigrate? Does this brain drain harm the continent? Research shows there is plenty of nuance: Even if the emigration of young people initially leads to a loss of skilled labor, those migrants contribute to the development of their home countries in the long term via remittances and knowledge transfer.

"Remittances from migrants is one of the most important sources of finance for African countries," explained Delapalme. Each year, migrants send back home sums of money equal to the total from official development cooperation and direct foreign investment combined.

"Migrants bring resources to Africa which would otherwise have to come from additional, larger direct investments from third countries," she said.

'Climate refugees will soon overrun Europe'

Headlines such as "The great climate migration has begun" in The New York Times or "Migration will soon be the biggest climate challenge of our time" in the Financial Times stir up fears of a mass exodus to Europe due to climate change. While the consequences of global warming — such as droughts, rising sea levels and extreme weather events — are real and threatening, studies show people in affected regions frequently stay in their home countries and try to adapt, instead of moving far away.

Migration is also expensive. It requires resources that many affected people in at-risk regions lack, especially if they have lost everything in a climate disaster. "It is not scientifically proven that climate change really leads to international migration," said Novotny.

False images, real consequences

Delapalme, who has traveled throughout Africa for decades, explains that misconceptions have real-life costs, something also proved by a new study by the pan-African nonprofit Africa No Filter. She emphasized that migration policies based on feelings instead of facts could undermine trust between the two continents.

It's important to consider migration from Africa in a nuanced way, and not lump it together under the banner of "Lampedusa," she said, in reference to the Italian island in the central Mediterranean which has become a symbol for illegal migration. She said a balance must be struck between facts, public opinion and politics.

"If there are only two of these elements, it doesn't work," she said.

This article was originally written in German.

It was an embarrassing defeat for Italy's government. Just weeks ago, at an EU summit, far-right Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had been promoting her "innovative" approach to processing asylum applications in non-EU third countries.

But now, the processing and detention facilities constructed in Albania expressly for this purpose are empty once again — save a few Italian staff members.

In October, Meloni's government had been forced to return the first 16 asylum-seekers it was holding in Albania back to Italy. Four claimed to be minors or ill. A court in Rome ruled that the remaining 12 asylum-seekers had the right to a trial in Italy.

In early November, the ring-wing administration made a second attempt, and transferred seven adults from Bangladesh and Egypt to a detention center in Albania. Days later, the government had to backtrack when a court in Rome ordered all seven be returned to Italy. A naval ship took them to the port of Brindisi, in southern Italy. 

Judges in Rome have now sought clarification on the issue from European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. 

At full capacity, Italy's government had hoped its facilities in Albania would be able to process up to 40,000 asylum applications a year. But not even two months into the launch of the project, it remains unclear whether the centers will ever be used.

Right-wing governing alliance attacks judiciary

"Now, the right move for Meloni's government would be to say, 'OK, we tried, but it's just not possible'," said Christopher Hein, a professor of migration and asylum law at Luiss University in Rome.

Both the European Court of Justice and various Italian courts have expressed concerns over Italy's classification of safe countries of origin, he explained, "especially with regard to Egypt and Bangladesh, as well as Tunisia, which is a key country of origin for asylum-seekers in Italy."

Italy's three-way, right-wing governing alliance has now launched an attack on the country's judiciary, with which it has been at loggerheads over other issues as well.

Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, the leader of the right-wing Lega (League) party, who faces a prison sentence for his 2019 treatment of migrants during his tenure as interior minister, said the courts' decisions were politically motivated, and would affect Italian security.

The somewhat more moderate minister for foreign affairs, Antonio Tajani, meanwhile, spoke of "a few judges who want to impose their political line on the government."

Tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has been tapped to lead a new Department of Government Efficiency in the new administration of US President-elect Donald Trump, has now also weighed in on the controversy, posting on his social media platform X, "[t]hese judges need to go."

Italy-Albania agreement had no 'deterrent effect'

Meloni's Albania model is not the only way Italy's government under the post-fascist Brothers of Italy party has tried to clamp down on irregular migration.

For example, since assuming office in 2022, Meloni has passed legislation that tightly restricts sea rescue. Now, ships are obliged to conclude their missions as soon as they have brought shipwrecked people aboard. These ships are frequently assigned to distant ports in northern Italy, which makes their operations more costly and less efficient.

A speaker for the UN International Organization for Migration told DW that far fewer arrivals had been recorded this year than in the same period last year.

However, the spokesperson also explained that: "considering the arrivals recorded over the past month, which was, in any case, characterized by bad weather, we can say that, at present, the Italy-Albania agreement has not had a deterrent effect, given that over the last 11 days alone, more than 3,300 sea arrivals have been recorded in Italy."

The spokesperson added that, when looking at the number of irregular migrants arriving, Europe was still a far cry from the emergency situation witnessed in 2015.

Italy's agreement mirrors UK's Rwanda asylum plan

Italy's agreement with its neighbor across the Adriatic still seems to appeal to other European governments. Denmark, the Netherlands and some politicians in Germany have also started expressing their own thoughts on involving third countries as a sort of service provider for offloading migrant caseloads.

Italy has set a precedent within the EU, and is therefore receiving as much attention as the UK did with its controversial Rwanda deal. Just this summer, London finally scrapped plans to deport asylum-seekers to Rwanda. But that was only after the former Tory government had sunk £700 million (€830 million/$888 million) of public funds in the undertaking.

"The legal, logistical and financial difficulties — and the Albania model has shown this — are so high, that the whole thing isn't worth it," said legal expert Hein.

He added that these were "desperate attempts to deal with the migrant and asylum situation in a way that did not do justice to those seeking asylum, or the legitimate need of the population for a more orderly procedure."

Will Meloni lose millions in Albania?

Italy's Albania model is also on the verge of become a financial disaster. The government currently expects operating costs to run up to €500 million by 2029. Now, the Court of Auditors, the highest audit institution in the heavily indebted EU member state, has intervened.

Hein spoke of a glaring disproportion between expenditure and the number of asylum-seekers involved. "This could even have consequences under criminal law," he cautioned. 

As a result of its inquiries, the Court of Auditors would also have the authority to prohibit further spending, the expert added.

In the coming weeks, Italy's Supreme Court of Cassation, the country's highest court of appeal, will rule on whether national laws on safe countries of origin are in line with EU legislation. Decisions by the European Court of Justice on the matter are also outstanding.

Soon, the decision over whether to continue with the Albania model may no longer be up to Italy's government.

This article was originally written in German.

Dulaj Madhushan hates dog food the most. Lifting dozens of 15-kilo packs from the trucks to the conveyor belt in the Amazon sorting center in Berlin is the most unpleasant part of his nine-hour shifts.

All the more annoying for the 29-year-old Sri Lankan is that he has other ambitions for his life in Germany. He has a bus driver's license from his home country, and has grown tired of seeing articles in the local papers about how the BVG, the German capital's public transport operator, is so short of personnel that it is struggling to fill its timetables.

Three months after he finally got his 10-year residency permit (thanks to his partner being an EU citizen), Madhushan is still no closer to driving a bus.

Madhushan's first few months in Germany, he said, have been very stressful. "I thought it was going to be easy — it's not," he told DW. "I need to do the vocational training and the language at the same time, and I can't find where I can get this." His efforts have so far been frustrating — the man at the BVG office he visited spoke little English and simply told him to check the BVG recruitment website for information (which is only in German).

Madhushan eventually learned that he needed intermediate-level German to work as a bus driver, but he found no information on the BVG's website on whether the BVG offered such courses, or on how he might go about getting his Sri Lankan driver's license recognized in Germany. In a statement to DW, the BVG said that recruiting foreign workers was "on the agenda" and that German courses were available for those who already had qualifications.

"Further concepts are currently being developed," said a BVG spokesperson. "Together with our partners, we are recruiting foreign skilled workers who already live in Berlin and, together with our partner, we are training them for the job of bus driver."

Madhushan's trip to the job center was also difficult. Even though the official he dealt with there could speak fluent English, she told him he had to bring a German speaker with him to translate. Faced with these frustrations, he took the easiest and quickest path to paid work: the Amazon sorting center — via a leading European recruitment agency — which requires neither German language skills nor any qualifications.

No German at work

There are virtually no Germans in the massive warehouse, said Madhushan, and even those there mainly speak English — as that is the one language everyone more or less understands.

"Even my supervisors are Afghan or Syrian or Pakistani, so they speak English in meetings," he said. All the other workers, mostly from India or Africa, speak whichever language they share. Would learning German do him any good at work? "No, not there," said Madhushan.

That is a fairly typical experience, said Britta Schneider, professor of language use and migration at the Viadrina European University in Frankfurt (Oder). "There's a big gap between the monolingual public discourse in Germany — you have to learn German, and if you don't, it means you don't want to integrate — and the practice, where it's often the case that you don't need any German at all," she told DW.

The result, said Schneider, is that many immigrants have little incentive to learn German — especially as the official German courses offered at adult education centers are so time-consuming that it's difficult to hold down a job at the same time. On offer in Berlin, for example, is a course comprising six modules of 100 hours each, taught in four-hour blocks up to five days a week. That would rule Madhushan out, unless he quits his job.

The lack of support in the German job market has not gone unnoticed among immigrants: An OECD survey released in January asked skilled workers either already in Germany or those interested in coming in what areas they would like to see more support. The top two answers were finding a job and learning German.

The same survey found a big difference between expectations and reality among foreign workers. When asked whether it was important to learn German to find an appropriate job in the country, 52% said yes before they came, but 65% thought so once they'd arrived.

There also seems to be an impression among foreign workers that they are less welcome than they thought they would be. When asked whether Germany had a "real interest in winning foreign workers," 55% said yes while they were still abroad, but only 33% agreed once they were living in Germany.

Multilingual society

The insistence on integration into society — supported by political discourse in Germany (and Europe generally) where nationalism is increasingly driving political debate — is at odds with what Schneider called a "social reality that is multilingual, where German doesn't always play an important role."

She also questioned the assumption that states should be monolingual and that sharing a single language is essential for social cohesion. "It's not really justifiable, given that we have a shortage of skilled labor," she said.

There is evidence that Germany is struggling to compete with other nations when it comes to attracting foreign workers. The international expat network InterNations conducted a survey of the most attractive countries for foreign workers, and found that Germany came 50th of 53 nations. While the job market offered many opportunities, the survey found that expats struggle to settle in. "Expats have a very hard time making friends, finding housing, and dealing with Germany's lack of a digital infrastructure," the survey concluded.

The OECD's 2023 "Talent Attractiveness" index was a little kinder, ranking Germany at 15th out of 38 — but still behind rivals such as the US, the UK and Canada.

Still, English appears to be becoming a more important language in the German job market — especially in big cities like Berlin. The German Startup Association found this year that the proportion of startups in the capital where the working language is English had risen from 42.3% to 55.8%.

But that is, of course, not true everywhere in Germany or in sectors where the country needs more workers, as Bernd Meyer, professor for intercultural communication at the University of Mainz, pointed out. "In care work, or in hospitals, it's not possible without German skills: care workers need to be able to talk to each other, to patients, to doctors," he told DW.

But he also said German society needs to become more multilingual. "The authorities, the doctors, the social institutions need to be able to speak several languages because the population is becoming more multilingual," he said.

There has been some progress in this direction: Germany's employment agencies are now specifically employing more people who can speak other languages — especially Turkish and Russian.

Schneider also thinks companies could be more proactive, for example by offering short German courses tailored to the jobs they need filled. This would save immigrants several hundred hours of general language courses before they can even look for work.

As for Madhushan, learning German is essentially imperative if he wants to be a bus driver, though it looks like he will have to finance that himself — probably on his earnings from Amazon.

Edited by: Rina Goldenberg

While you're here: Every Tuesday, DW editors round up what is happening in German politics and society. You can sign up here for the weekly email newsletter Berlin Briefing.

Less than six months ago, the European Union signed off a reform package designed to address glaring flaws in its common asylum system laid bare during the crisis years of 2015 and 2016, when the arrival of more than 1 million people overwhelmed ill-prepared national authorities.

The EU migration and asylum pact was the culmination of almost 10 years of fraught negotiations. It saw the 27 countries agree on measures to more evenly distribute the costs of taking in asylum seekers across the bloc, but also beef up external border protection to stop people reaching the EU in the first place.

Now, as far-right politicians exert ever more influence on the levers of powers in European capitals, both directly in government posts and indirectly in opposition, the deal looks more fragile than ever.

Netherlands plans 'toughest migration policy ever'

In recent weeks, a string of countries that had previously been instrumental in getting the reform package, due to come into force in 2026, over the line have announced a hardening of their individual national asylum policies.

France's new right-wing government, tacitly dependent on the backing of the far-right National Rally, announced plans to tighten borders. Under pressure from recent electoral successes by the far-right Alternative for Germany party, the center-left coalition government in Berlin announced it would ramp up checks on EU internal borders to control migration.

Last week, the Dutch minister in charge of asylum, Marjolein Faber of the far-right PVV, announced plans for the "toughest migration policy ever." But most controversially for the Netherlands' EU neighbors, Faber told the European Commission said she would seek an opt-out from the legally binding package.

Within days, Budapest announced similar ambitions, prompting short-lived fears of a domino effect.

EU rhetoric vs. reality

In the end, it quickly emerged that The Hague's demand would only come into play if and when the EU treaties were next renegotiated, something that is not on the cards any time soon.

Exemptions from EU law on certain policies are possible to obtain in theory (Denmark has one for migration policy), but getting one requires the agreement of the other states to be written into the EU's basic laws.

As Alberto-Horst Neidhardt of the European Policy Center think tank explained, one should be careful to distinguish between rhetoric and the reality.

"We hear more and more political statements trying to send a message to the national electorate," Neidhardt said. "I would separate between the political declarations by governments in the past weeks, and the technical work on the pact, which is in full swing."

Camille Le Coz, an expert from the Migration Policy Institute think tank in Paris, agrees. "There's a gap between what you say and do." At the same time, "what you're saying publicly can have ramifications for the other countries." Greece, for example, was incensed by Germany's recent announcements about increased border checks, she pointed out.

Around the continent, governments are increasingly keen to be seen as being "tough" on migration. Many politicians fear being accused by the public of accepting EU laws that mean taking in more asylum seekers. The member states are closely watching each other, and accusations of free-riding or hypocrisy are quick to fly.

Slim chances for refugee relocations

In the next two years, each country will need to write the changes into national law. Under the new rules, asylum seekers and refugees are to be more thoroughly screened within seven days of arrival in the EU. They also allow certain applicants to be held at external borders and assessed in a fast-track procedure to allow for swifter deportation if unsuccessful.

But for far-right politicians like Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, the most contentious part of the law is a mechanism that obliges all EU states to take in approved refugees from other member states to spread new arrivals more evenly. Under EU rules, asylum applications are generally supposed to be made in the country of arrival, a system few would assert is fair to southern border states like Italy and Greece.

If other member states refuse relocations, with thousands set to take place each year, they must pay a financial contribution of €600 million ($668 million) a year or offer logistical support instead.

The Netherlands, for example, is likely to opt for financial or logistical contributions rather than accepting relocations, migration expert Neidhardt said. This wouldn't be the same as an actual opt-out, which would take years to negotiate. "The Netherlands remains bound to the rules just agreed."

How close is EU asylum policy to collapsing, really?

The migration and asylum pact was a compromise that satisfied no one totally — be they anti-immigration hardliners like the Hungarian government, states on EU external borders like Greece or common end destination countries like Germany.

Perhaps least impressed were those advocating for the rights of asylum seekers and migrants, who pointed out the deal would not stop thousands of people dying while crossing the Mediterranean every year and would likely undermine the right to claim asylum.

In Neidhardt's opinion, despite what EU governments say in public, privately they know that the deal is "too big too fail."

"Should the pact fail, that would mean the end of the common European asylum system," he said. "And that's not in the interest of any of the member states, whether we're talking about Germany, the Netherlands — whatever."

In fact, the toughening of EU asylum policy predates the pact, or even recent gains in influence for the far right in capitals from Stockholm to Rome. For years, the EU has been spending more on border protection and channeling funds to common countries of origin to try and stop people seeking a new life in the EU in the first place.

The EU's long road to reform

For Camille Le Coz of the Migration Policy Institute, the pact thrashed out in earlier years remains the best way for member states to deal with many migration management issues. The European Commission's priority must now be ensuring member states have the necessary "political buy-in" to keep things advancing, she warned.

"The whole reason why we have this common European asylum system is connected with the Schengen area and freedom of movement," she recalled.

For Le Coz, it remains to be seen if this very "fragile" deal can hold. The first milestones are already looming. By the end of the year, all the member states are supposed to have finalized their implementation plans. "I think that's going to be very interesting to see."

Edited by: Andreas Illmer

Michel Barnier, the new French head of government, is still in the process of selecting his ministers. But he has already outlined what he wants to change in France, with irregular migration at the top of his list of priorities.

"You get the impression that the borders are as porous as a sieve, and that migration flows are not under control. We are going to change that," Barnier said last week during his first TV interview since taking office.

The implementation of a stricter migration and asylum policy might stay in the hands of the Interior Ministry. According to French media reports, Barnier is also planning a dedicated Immigration Ministry.

Such a ministry would also signal that Barnier, from the conservative Republican party, is taking his cue from the presidency of fellow party member Nicolas Sarkozy, who led France from 2007 to 2012 — at least when it comes to migration.

In 2005, when Sarkozy was the interior minister, he made international headlines during a visit to Paris' minority housing estates with his comment that "we will clean the estate with Kärcher [high pressure hose]." Upon being elected president in 2007, he created an Immigration Ministry as part of his stricter migration policy.

Sarkozy's hard-line immigration policy temporarily succeeded in stopping the rise of the extreme right-wing National Front.

Barnier's government dependent on far right

Today, the former National Front, now renamed the National Rally (RN) and headed by Marine Le Pen, has made a comeback. It was the strongest French party in the recent European elections, winning 31.4% of the vote. The party also won a number of additional seats in the French parliamentary elections held in June and July.

The alliance of centrist President Emmanuel Macron, on the other hand, collapsed.

"Michel Barnier is dependent on the votes of the RN in parliament if his government is to survive," Jacob Ross, France expert at the German Council on Foreign Relations, told DW.

When the new prime minister was announced last week, parties on both the left and the right criticized the decision, as Barnier's party had only come fourth in the elections. But the RN said it wouldn't automatically vote down Banier's appointment, but instead wait and see what sort of program he laid out, a stance experts have linked to the RN hoping for a tightened asylum and migration policy.

"In the past, Barnier has repeatedly emphasized that he sees Brexit as a response to the loss of control of national politics," Ross said of the prime minister, who was formerly the EU's chief Brexit negotiator.

"Barnier fears if there are no fundamental changes to the European migration policy, this will jeopardize the entire European project in the long term," he added.

Why Barnier is pushing stricter migration policy

To counter such a development, Barnier believes that a stricter migration policy is needed. The new prime minister has not yet announced any details, but his 2021 election campaign for presidency of the Republicans could be an indication of what can be expected of him.

At the time, the former foreign minister supported accelerated asylum procedures, called for restrictions on family reunification and mused about temporarily stopping the admission of asylum-seekers, possibly for several years.

Not even constitutional amendments seemed to be a taboo in order to override EU law in cases of doubt. These measures were intended to restore national sovereignty in migration policy and promote the integration of migrants. His campaign, however, did not win over the party.

And yet, while the National Rally's votes in parliament for any tightening of migration laws are likely to be secured, otherwise Barnier and Le Pen are politically worlds apart.

Barnier is seen as a centrist who would neither fundamentally question the European integration project nor EU institutions. However, although Le Pen is no longer pushing to pull France out of the EU as in the past, she still aims to radically change relations with Brussels.

What does this mean for Emmanuel Macron?

So far, Barnier can only rely on the less than 50 members of his party as well as the presidential alliance in the country's National Assembly. The two camps had already agreed on a tighter migration policy in 2023, despite the opposition role of Barnier's Republicans.

However, this caused tensions in the Macron camp at the time, which had initially attracted many left-wing politicians.

Among other issues, last year's reform introduced yearslong waiting periods for social benefits for certain non-EU migrants.

Numerous measures were subsequently rejected by France's Constitutional Council, in cases because the court found individual paragraphs to be in breach of the constitution, in others because of procedural errors. For example, the judges overturned the rule that the National Assembly is allowed to set an upper limit for the admission of migrants, citing a violation of the separation of powers.

In the coming months, Barnier's negotiating skills will be in demand, not least on the European stage. He knows the rules of the game in Brussels very well. The so-called Dublin Regulation and the Schengen Borders Code set high barriers for longer-term border controls and pushback at borders.

Accordingly, border controls at internal borders in the Schengen area may only be a temporary exception.

However, the number of EU states that have opted for national solo efforts when it comes to migration policy has increased in recent years.

Germany also tightens border controls

Barnier, who is hardly likely to harbor a fundamental interest in undermining EU law, may now be helped by political momentum in neighboring Germany.

Shortly after Barnier took office, German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser announced border controls and "rejections in line with European law" at all German borders until further notice.

With the emerging change of course, France's most important EU partner could in turn become an ally for a tougher migration policy in Europe.

The debate in France is nonetheless much more advanced than in Germany.

The migration reform which was passed last year against popular protests goes far beyond what currently appears to be acceptable to the majority in Germany. The pushback of migrants trying to cross the French border have not made headlines in France for a long time.

In 2017, when Emmanuel Macron was first elected as president, French security forces stopped more than 50,000 people at the French-Italian border alone. Checks were not only carried out on the road and on trains, but also in the mountains.

This article was originally written in German.

Theoretically, seamless internal borders and unhindered travel are what the European Union's Schengen Area is all about. That is, unless you're Germany's center-left federal coalition government, shaken by two historic state election results for the far right and a terrorist stabbing by a suspected failed asylum seeker. 

"Until we achieve stronger border protection with the joint European asylum system, we must further protect our national borders," Interior Minister Nancy Faeser of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) said Monday in the German capital.

According to Faeser, stricter border rules would allow for a "massive step-up in rejections" of asylum seekers and help deal with Islamist terrorism and serious cross-border crime.

The announcement comes after weeks of intense debate sparked by a knife attack that killed three people in Solingen, a town just north of Düsseldorf in western Germany. The suspect is a 26-year-old Syrian man due for deportation and with links to the so-called "Islamic State" group, which claimed responsibility for the attack.

Less than a week after the attack, the far-right, anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party made big gains in state elections in eastern Germany, finishing first in Turingian and second in Saxony. The results have put pressure on Chancellor Olaf Scholz's embattled coalition government as more Germans want the country to get tougher on immigration and border controls.

What exactly is Germany planning?

As of next Monday, Germany will introduce more systematic land border checks for six months on people arriving by bus, train or car from Schengen zone neighbors Belgium, France, Denmark, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

The country introduced similar controls in October 2023 on its borders with Poland, the Czech Republic and non-EU country Switzerland, and controls have been in place much longer at its Austrian border. Those measures have seen more than 30,000 people turned away since, according to the Interior Ministry.

However, the full details of the latest plan — for example, the frequency and intensity of identity document checks — and how exactly it would comply with Schengen rules and EU law remain unclear.

Germany's plan allows for systematic checks to be imposed temporarily for up to two years at most in practice when there is a specific threat to security. However, both Schengen rules and EU law enshrine the right to seek asylum and the principle of non-refoulement. A detailed proposal is expected this week.

What's the big deal for Germany's neighbors?

Bordered by nine countries, Germany is at the geographic and economic heart of the EU. Travelers from those countries will now be subjected to increased vigilance and potentially time-consuming checks, which could snarl traffic at borders, slow transit and even affect the economy. According to the German Federal Employment Agency, some 240,000 people from neighboring countries commute into the country for work.

On Tuesday, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk slammed the announcement as "unacceptable" and said his government would call urgent consultations with other affected countries.

"What Poland needs is not an increase in controls at our border but greater involvement of countries such as Germany in guarding and securing the EU's external borders," Tusk said in comments reported by the German news agency DPA.

There is also the question of what happens to people turned away from German borders. On Monday, Austria's conservative interior minister, Gerhard Karner, vowed that his country would not take in any rejected asylum seekers or migrants.

"There's no room for negotiation here. It's the law. I have therefore instructed the director of the Federal Police not to carry out any transfers," Karner told Bild, a German tabloid.

What does it mean for people seeking protection in Germany?

The German government's intention is to turn more people away and reduce irregular migration. According to Alberto-Horst Neidhardt of the European Policy Center think tank, the result could be a backlog of people stranded as Germany refuses to take people in and neighbors refuse to take them back.

"Chaotic scenes of camps could come to mark some of the most [congested] entry points," Neidhardt told DW.

However, the EU migration policy expert didn't think that was very likely. "I doubt that Germany has sufficient capacity and well-trained border forces to efficiently guard all its land borders."

What does it mean for the EU asylum system?

A more realistic concern, Neidhardt warned, is that the move could set off a "chain reaction, with countries such as France or the Netherlands where coalition partners were elected on anti-immigration platform following suit."

"The honeymoon following the introduction of long-awaited reforms in the area of migration and asylum could be over, with realpolitik, short-termism and national interests taking the EU and national political agendas by storm," he said.

Mireia Faro Sarrats of the European Council on Foreign Relations agreed it could inspire similar moves elsewhere.

"This will likely set a precedent for other EU member states that are not very supportive of migration, such as Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, to claim some kind of security threat," she told DW.

What does it tell us about the mood in Germany?

Many observers have been quick to point out that it is a sign of how far Germany's stance on immigration has changed since the 2015 European migrant crisis. Back then, under the center-right government of Chancellor Angela Merkel, the country largely opened its borders to hundreds of thousands of refugees arriving from Syria and elsewhere.  

According to Neidhardt, the increased border checks should be understood as a  "political message in response to security-related anxieties among voters rather than an effective answer to the security threats cited by the government."

"While raising public expectations that internal borders will be sealed, the reintroduction of controls will, however, not prevent all irregular arrivals," he said.

Edited by: Davis VanOpdorp

It's a warm, sunny, late summer day on the Drina River near the village of Kozluk in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Although the river can reach a depth of up to 1.5 meters (almost 5 feet) in places, it is mostly only knee-deep around here, which means it's almost possible to wade from one bank to the other.

Three young men have just emerged from the river; their shorts and T-shirts are still wet.

"We just swam over," one of them tells DW. He says his name is Aman and that he is 20-years-old. "We saw that no one was on the other side, so we set off. In some places, the river bed is dry. We got wet, but the sun is shining, so we'll dry off quickly," he says, smiling. All three laugh.

Well-worn refugee path

The three young men come from Morocco and are on their way to western Europe. They traveled first to Turkey and then to Greece. From there, they crossed over into North Macedonia and on to Serbia. Until just a few days ago, they were in a reception facility near Belgrade.

The Drina River is part of what is known as the "Balkan route" used by many migrants en route to northwestern Europe. This land route usually begins in Turkey and then winds up through the Balkans through either Bulgaria or Greece.

Volunteers on hand to help

Here, at the Drina River, which forms a large part of the border between Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, the three young men waited until the coast was clear and for a good opportunity to cross. "No problem, no problem," they say at the end of almost every sentence.

One of the three sustained minor injuries to his legs while crossing the river. A volunteer from a Bosnian Red Cross team that happened to be in the area when they came out of the river, bandages the young man's right knee.

The Red Cross team patrols the river bank regularly on the lookout for migrants in need of food or medical assistance.

Sometimes, says team leader Mladen Majstorovic, they are called on by the border police.

His colleague, Darko Jovanovic, says that the Red Cross team treated a total of 800 refugees here and handed out almost 3,000 meals in the first eight months of the year.

Migrants have drowned in the river

Every day, dozens of migrants cross into Bosnia along this section of river. Hardly anyone stops them.

This part of the border is patrolled by an insufficient number of Bosnian border guards. Hundreds — perhaps even thousands — of guards would be needed to patrol the entire region.

The situation is so dramatic that at some border crossings, there is only one officer processing all entries and departures at a time.

Despite claims to the contrary, the Balkan route was never entirely shut down. Indeed it has been particularly busy again for quite some time now — especially along the Drina.

There have been a number of tragedies on the route in recent years. The last one took place just a few weeks ago when at least 10 migrants drowned in the Drina close to the Serbian town of Ljubovija on August 22 when a completely overcrowded inflatable boat capsized.

The people were apparently crammed onto the boat by human traffickers. Eighteen people managed to save themselves.

'It all seems organized'

Nihad Suljic has also noticed that the number of migrants at the Drina has risen sharply in recent months.

In addition to his regular work in the eastern Bosnian city of Tuzla, the 34-year-old is also a human rights activist who helps stranded migrants by providing them with the bare necessities.

Suljic is well known in Bosnia because he helped set up a cemetery for migrants who had been found dead in the country.

"When it comes to migration, Bosnia is once again the center of attention," Suljic told DW. "But unlike in the pandemic years and the period immediately preceding it, the human traffickers now seem to be perfectly integrated into the structures."

After crossing the border, migrants used to walk in small groups to the reception facilities or straight on towards Croatia, says Suljic, adding that migrants are now rarely seen on the streets, because the reception centers are all full. "It all seems to be perfectly organized," he says.

Migrants keep out of sight

Miroslav Radisic says much the same thing. He owns a guesthouse only a few meters from the Sepak crossing on the Bosnian-Serbian border, about 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) downstream from the city of Zvornik in Bosnia.

Radisic says that business with the refugees is booming, that everything is interconnected and everyone in the region knows it.

According to Radisic, taxi drivers wait right outside his guesthouse and negotiate with arriving migrants about prices.

"You can't get any sleep around here, with taxis coming and going all the time," he complains. "Then there are the sirens blaring. People fight over the refugees: Sometimes ten refugees arrive and 20 taxi drivers are waiting for them here."

Radisic is standing underneath the bridge over the Drina that leads to Serbia, explaining how migrants cross the border on the underside of the bridge.

"They climb onto the steel girders under the bridge and abseil down a rope hanging down on our side that no one removes — not even the officers here at the border."

When asked why this is the case, Radisic says that the border will only be hermetically patrolled when the border police get enough personnel.

Stepping up border patrols

In response to a query from DW, the border police in Bosnia and Herzegovina said that the force is monitoring the border more closely and that more police officers and members of the special security forces have been deployed. Their aim is to stop irregular migration.

"Since the beginning of the year, border police officers have registered 5,477 people who have illegally crossed or tried to cross the border," the border police said in a statement. "In most cases, human traffickers, who bring people across the Drina either in private cars or with boats, are also involved."

The three young Moroccans seem to have come to Bosnia on their own steam — at least they make no mention of human traffickers.

They say that they first want to go to the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo, and then cross the green border into Croatia near Bihac in northwestern Bosnia. They are headed for Germany.

"We cannot lead normal lives in Morocco," they say, when asked why they have made the journey. Then they get into a taxi and set off towards Zvornik.

This article was originally published in German.

When European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen laid out the priorities for her next term in office, she said she would triple the number of Frontex officials to 30,000 and equip them with "state-of-the art technology."

The European Union's decision to strengthen the border agency comes as immigration remains high and as calls by member states to process asylum applications in third countries grow. In addition, Russia is suspected of pushing migrants into the EU through shared borders or via regional allies.

Soon after the announcement in July, Frontex followed up with tenders worth €400 million ($444 million) to buy drones, night goggles and other surveillance capabilities. 

"We use these tools to monitor irregular migration routes and detect cross-border crimes such as smuggling," Krzysztof Borowski , a Frontex spokesperson, told DW. "They are particularly useful because they provide real-time video feeds," he explained, adding that it allowed the agency to respond to a situation as it unfolds.

Borowski said the "operations are focused on key areas like the Central and Eastern Mediterranean, where irregular migration tends to be most active.’" 

But giving more men and material to the border management agency that has been engulfed in controversies has led to strong criticism from activists and NGOs.

They fear that more resources for Frontex could become instrumental in pushing migrants back into the hands of authoritarian regimes. 

Combating Russia's hybrid warfare

"Russia is luring migrants from Yemen up north and pushing them deliberately against the Finnish border," von der Leyen said in her July speech. "This is part of the reason why we must strengthen Frontex."

Last year, Finland accused Russia of weaponizing migration after an influx of migrants, including people from Syria and Somalia, entered the country. 

Back in 2021, Poland said Russia was orchestrating a migrant crisis on the EU's doorsteps on the Belarus-Poland border. 

In an interview with Russian state media last month, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko threatened the EU that he would let the migrants "go wherever they want," unless sanctions against him were lifted. 

Frontex's new drones and other surveillance equipment are expected to be deployed on land borders to help member states spot refugees on Russian territory.

But as far-right parties make more gains across Europe and centrist parties also begin to take a firmer stance against uncontrolled immigration, some activists fear the video intelligence gathered by drones may be used to stop them from setting foot in the EU in the first place. 

Far right strengthening Frontex? 

The Abolish Frontex campaign, which is comprised of several NGOs, said the rise of the far right and the shift of center and liberal parties toward the right has boosted support for Frontex. 

"Frontex is being strengthened by far-right anti-immigrant politics to stop migrants from reaching the EU so they don't have a chance to even apply for asylum which is a valid right," according to Josephine Valeske, a member of the group. "Frontex is getting the drones and more forces to push back the migrants."

In two separate letters in May and June, more than a dozen EU member states called on Ylva Johansson, EU home affairs commissioner, to step up the management of asylum-seekers. One of the letters said the bloc should shift focus, "from managing irregular migration in Europe" to supporting transit countries or "regions of origin."

Activsts warn of 'torture, slavery and death' 

Oliver Kulikowski, a spokesperson for Sea-Watch, a German humanitarian group operating in the Mediterranean Sea and commissioning ships to rescue migrants, said Frontex would likely use its aerial surveillance equipment to spot migrants and share their coordinates with "militias of the so-called Libyan coast guard." He said that once migrants would be back in Libya, they could be subjected to "torture, slavery and death," a claim substantiated by a UN-backed inquiry.

Amnesty International last year said returnees risked "arbitrary detention and torture," in Libya.

Borowski, of Frontex, explained that in a search-and-rescue situation, Frontex would usually alert the nearest rescue coordination centers regardless of where they are, Libya included. But he emphasized that while Frontex provided technology and support, "the decision-making for interventions or rescue operations lies with the authorities on the ground or at sea."

Last year, the EU ombudsman investigated accusations against Frontex that it could have saved people who drowned after an incident off the Greek coast when the overcrowded Adriana vessel capsized. 

The inquiry concluded that, "current rules prevented Frontex from taking a more active role in the Adriana incident," and that it is "dependent on the actions of Member States to uphold its fundamental rights obligations and its duty to save lives."

But it also suggested that if Frontex engaged in transfers of surveillance techniques and of related capacity building to non-EU countries with poor human rights records or systemic human rights abuses, "a prior assessment of the human rights impact should always be carried out."

Drones to save lives 

Activists contend drone footage should ideally be used by civic agencies to rescue people stuck at sea. They said Frontex's assurances that it was trying to save people were empty. 

In a 2022 report, Human Rights Watch said Frontex was complicit in abuse in Libya and that its guarantees rang hollow, "as long as the border agency doesn't use the technology and information at its disposal to ensure that people are rescued promptly and can disembark at safe ports."

The UN's International Organization for Migration recorded the highest death toll in a decade last year, and said more than 8000 people died on migration routes, more than half as a result of drowning. 

Edited by: Andreas Illmer

Correction, September 6, 2024: An earlier version of this article gave the incorrect title for European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. DW apologizes for the error.

In the bars of the La Frontera municipality, the second largest town on the island of El Hierro, the phrase "Que lleguen bien," meaning "may they arrive safely,"echoes through the walls.

Located at the southwestern tip of the Canary Islands archipelago, seven islands belonging to Spain, El Hierro has been a regular choice destination for African migrants.

Francis Mendoza, the coordinator of the Corazon Naranja group of Civil Protection volunteers, sips a beer in Winnit bar, on the well-known Tigaday Street. Mendoza is accompanied by Omar, a young man from Gambia, and Aliu, of Senegalese origin. They are closely monitoring the arrivals of the cayucos, the boats carrying migrants.

Figures from the Spanish Interior Ministry show that in 2023, at least 14,535 people arrived on El Hierro in 154 boats. That's equivalent to an average of 40 people daily on an island with an area of 278 square kilometers (108 square miles), and home to around 12,000 inhabitants.

More arrivals expected in September

Boat arrivals have continued to increase in 2024, with the numbers showing an average of 45 people each day. The island's residents, known as Herrenos, told DW they expect a further increase in the number of people arriving in September.

In just 10 days in August, 1,007 people arrived on the island. Among the migrants were people from Senegal, Mauritania, Gambia, Mali, Guinea, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Juan Miguel Padron Brito is the mayor of the municipality of El Pinar and remembers those chaotic times when the small Atlantic island had to face the massive arrival of migrants for the first time.

"There were people who complained, with good reason, because there were, for example, three of us in the room to be attended by the doctors in the health center, a migrant boat arrived and all the health workers moved to attend it and the three of us were left without health services," Brito told DW.

However, El Hierro is an oasis of solidarity in a Europe that is becoming increasingly closed and hostile toward migrants searching for a better life and future.

"The sea is very calm. It's very strange," said Mendoza. "I only hope they arrive safely," he added with concern.

In El Hierro, most people are welcoming; some even offer a space in their homes to care for those who have arrived. Migrants generally spend around five days in El Hierro before they are transferred to main island of Tenerife, further east.

A new life on the island

"Here we are fine and happy. We want to stay on the island," Abdu told DW. He arrived from Senegal 11 months ago and is now a community member.

Teseida, a mother of two boys, and her husband arrived 11 months ago from Senegal with other family members. They raised enough money to buy a boat and set sail into the uncertainty of the sea.

On disembarking, the Spanish police accused the father of the minors of being the "patron" of the boat, which makes him liable for the crime of human trafficking for profit.

Whenever a migrant boat arrives, the authorities look for someone responsible, even if, in this case, he was not a smuggler. Now, he is being held in prison in Tenerife, awaiting trial.

Every month, Teseida takes the children to the neighboring island to visit their father, as she considers it essential for the boys to have contact with him.

Registering and verifying migrants

Omar, a young Gambian, arrived in a boat from Senegal 12 months ago as a minor. However, bone tests determined he was an adult, so he was forced to leave the center.

Luckily for him, Mendoza, head of the Civil Protection volunteers, gave him a place of refuge. Today, the young man works as a volunteer in the Corazon Naranja group, which helps migrants, and is trying to build a normal life.

"We are all very attached to Omar, especially in my group," said Mendoza. "We took him in when he arrived on the island a year ago. Since then, we have created a very strong relationship with him."

Migrants helping migrants

Omar now assists in the reception of new migrants arriving on the island. He takes care of the new arrivals with his colleagues as they enter the temporary center for foreigners, under the watch of the National Police. The center is responsible for carrying out registration and identification procedures for people who enter the country irregularly.

Local sources in El Hierro believe at least 75,000 people are expected to try to reach Europe through the Canary Islands route between September and October.

Faced with the imminent increase in the number of boats arriving on the small island, one wonders whether the solidarity of the locals has a limit or is inexhaustible.

"No, no, in El Hierro, that doesn't happen," said Mendoza. Though island residents "may be tired, out of breath," he said that they "will be giving everything to help [migrants]." 

Editor: Chrispin Mwakideu

Narendra Bhattarai from Nepal's Panchthar District was a writer, poet and an aspiring filmmaker in his home country before moving to Qatarto seek better opportunities in 2007.

Bhattarai planned his move carefully. The artist paid an agent a significant amount of money to ensure he would get a job as a driver with a relatively high salary.

Upon his arrival, however, he was forced to work as a construction worker. He was guaranteed 900 Qatari riyals (then approximately $247) per month but ended up only receiving 600 riyals.

"I dreamed of providing a quality life to my family but I ended up being a victim of labor exploitation," Bhattarai told DW.

Bhattarai had to work very hard in Qatar to repay his debt for several years. He then returned to Nepal, resuming his passion for poetry and filmmaking, and continued to struggle for money.

In 2019, the artist was traveling to Portugal for a movie screening, and learned he could apply for residency and work legally in the EU country. He decided to stay.

"Long-term residency in Europe means providing certainty in the future for me and my family," he told DW.

Portugal opens the gates in late 2010s

Bhattarai was one of several hundred Nepalese who found work in Portugal in 2019.

Official data from the Nepal government shows that only 25 individuals received Portuguese work permits in 2018, but the number surged to 461 the following year. 

Portugal needed workers with lower skills levels, and was allowing them to get jobs "especially in agriculture and tourism," according to European study, Rethinking Approaches to Labor Migration - Full Case Study Portugal.

Between 2019 and 2024, many European countries reported the number of their Nepalese workers more than doubled, with Romania leading the pack with an increase of 640%.

Why is Europe becoming more popular?

While countries like Kuwait also experienced a surge in Nepali migrant workers in the same period, experts believe Nepalese labor migration patterns are shifting.

Shunning traditional destinations in Asia and around the Persian Gulf, many workers are opting for EU nations such as like Poland, Romania, Portugal, Malta, Hungary, Croatia and others.

Some of it can be explained simply by better earning opportunities and easier access to jobs abroad.

"Our socio-cultural structure has shaped our psychology to save for the future," sociologist Tikaram Gautam told DW.

"As globalization offers multiple alternatives for labor migrants, they choose destinations where they can earn more."

But there is also the issue of prestige and peer pressure.

Nepalese-born Dipak Gautam has been working as a security guard in Dubai for a decade, earning enough to be able to send some of his salary back home, but he says he is still looked down upon for not working in Europe.

"Nepalese society considers working in Europe as prestigious, while those of us working in the Gulf are seen as failures," he said.

Nepalese society sees European nations as capable of providing better working conditions, higher wages and more opportunities.

Dipak says he also tried applying for a working visa to Poland, but was rejected twice.

Why are young workers leaving Nepal?

According to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), remittances from migrant workers contributed up to 26.6% of Nepal's GDP, valued at an estimated $11 billion, in 2023.

The labor market in the Himalayan nation is burdened by political turmoil, lack of large-scale employment plans, and inadequate human resource management.

At the same time, the country is quite liberal when it comes to the political system, education, and access to technology.

These factors, according to labor expert Meena Poudel, have made Nepalese informed global citizens and raised their expectations from the government.

"They are aware of global developments, but they can't compare these experiences to what they get in Nepal," she explained.

Fewer jobs for unskilled workers closer to home

In recent years, countries like Malaysia or Gulf nations have raised the bar for migrant labor.

"Employers also have started seeking skilled manpower, which forces semi-skilled and unskilled people to seek alternatives," Poudel said.

At the same time, several European countries have relaxed their immigration laws , making it easier for foreign workers to obtain visas, particularly in sectors like agriculture, housekeeping, hospitality and construction.

European nations are also seen as providing more freedom with less risk of labor exploitation.

Realizing the dream of better life in Europe

Since last year, Germany has been making changes to its Skilled Immigration Act, introducing the concept of an "opportunity card" for third-country nationals seeking employment. 

Bijay Limbu had worked in Qatar before moving to Malta six months ago with a dream of finding a job in Germany. .

 "I am upgrading my skills and learning the language so I can meet the requirements for residence permit," he told DW.

At the same time, he warned that "migrant work is always uncertain."

Portugal, the new home of Nepalese writer Narendra Bhattarai, is a good example — recent legal changes have put more obstacles to immigrants wanting to work and settle in the county.

Bhattarai says he is "satisfied mentally and financially" with his life in Portugal, which is allowing him to pick up his passion for writing once again.

"I believe I came to Europe at the right time," he said.

Edited by: Darko Janjevic 

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The number of immigrants in Sweden is lower than it has been for a long time.

In early August, Migration Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said Statistics Sweden, the government's official statistics agency, had found that 5,700 more people had emigrated than immigrated in the period from January to May 2024. Stenergard said the trend was expected to continue, adding that the number of asylum applications had not been as low since 1997.

It's not the first time that Sweden has seen a dramatic drop in asylum applications. In 2016, 28,939 people applied for asylum in the country of  just over 10.5 million— significantly down from the 162,877 applications in 2015.

Government tightened migration policies in 2016

The lower figures can be attributed to the government's decision to change course. At the end of 2015, the ruling Social Democrats ended Sweden's previously liberal immigration and integration policies, whereby many asylum-seekers from crisis-ridden countries such as the former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq and Somalia had been accepted, and significantly tightened migration policies.

Since October 2022, a minority government led by conservative Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has been in power, supported by the far-right nationalist Sweden Democrats. 

In a report by the German Federal Agency for Civic Education, Swedish migration expert Bernd Parusel wrote that Sweden introduced various measures against a backdrop of major "bottlenecks in registering, finding accommodation for, and caring for asylum-seekers entering the country."

Parusel explained that the measures first concerned access to Swedish territory in order to apply for asylum. Secondly, they were about granting asylum and the legal consequences. Thirdly, the idea was that people should be encouraged to return voluntarily, and deportations should be carried out consistently.

Iraqis, Somalis and Syrians leaving Sweden

According to the Swedish government's most recent press release, there are now more and more people who originally came from Iraq, Somalia or Syria leaving the country. It remains open how many of these voluntary returnees figure in the latest migration statistics. But Stenergard seems convinced that the current figures are down to the more restrictive policies of the past eight years. "The government's efforts are bearing fruit," she said.

The motives of departing immigrants also remain unclear. In 2017, Parusel explained that "making life difficult for asylum-seekers forced to leave the country" is not a suitable method of encouraging people to leave Sweden on a voluntary basis. On the contrary, he said there would be more social hardship if they were deprived of benefits and accommodation.

"The trend toward manageable immigration is crucial if we want to improve integration," said Migration Minister Sternegard.

At first glance, it might appear logical that it's easier to integrate migrants if there are fewer people. However, according to Parusel, the system of making Sweden as unattractive as possible for immigrants by keeping them in the dark about their prospects, while at the same time promoting better and faster integration into society, does not work.

Sweden struggling to deal with organized crime

But one sign that tougher restriction have not solved all problems is the continued problem of organized crime. Prime Minister Kristersson has set himself the goal of combating the issue, attributing it the previous government's "irresponsible immigration policy and a failed integration."

Indeed, Sweden has been struggling for years with criminal groups that finance themselves primarily through drug trafficking and fraud. There have been fatal shootings and bomb attacks, and also incidents of bystanders getting caught in the crossfire.

These incidents tend to take place in poorer neighborhoods, where there is a higher proportion of migrants. But experts have attributed the crime largely to high levels of unemployment, lack of prospects and poverty.

This article was originally written in German.