Events and media – September 2026

MPG takes the stage

28 September | Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) exchange on fair recruitment from North Africa held on 28 September

MPG Head of Research Dr Başak Yavçan spoke at a FES exchange on fair recruitment from North Africa held on 28 September, drawing on MPG’s Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX) and its ongoing evaluation of several EU Migration Partnership Facility (MPF). She stressed that the EU needs to look beyond recruitment and consider whether sufficient legal pathways, as well as sound integration policies, exist. She emphasises that the lack of a sufficient number of legal pathways is further exacerbated by the absence of policies to retain workers, including high-skilled employees. “Countries offer fast-track visas to skilled workers, but the welcome after arrival remains weak.” Issues with restrictive rules on residence, family reunification and citizenship can undermine Europe’s ability to attract and retain migrant workers, too. Dr Yavçan also pointed out some good examples, however, including the Single Permit Directive which EU countries had to transpose by May 2026, as well as a number of Spanish regularisation and mobility schemes.

Examples of MPG covered in the media

15 September | Dublin InQuirer | The government wants to add “integration” conditions to the citizenship process. Will it up its own game, too?

The article is devoted to the proposed tightening of the Irish citizenship requirements, and how they would affect migrants, including those on lower incomes who face limited access to integration services and are bound to be most affected. The piece quotes the MIPEX 2025 brief that there is growing political momentum across many EU countries to tighten the requirements for citizenship, but reducing the legal and procedural barriers that prevent migrants from acquiring nationality plays a vital role in fostering a deeper sense of inclusion and equal membership within society. The article follows the story of a beneficiary of protection from Ukraine and his hurdles with accessing services. It also includes quotes from the Movement of Asylum Seekers Ireland (MASI).

11 September | European Center for Populism Studies (ECPS) | Assoc. Prof. Hellström: Many Swedes Feel That Rejudification Has Gone Too Far

This article penned by Associate Professor Anders Hellström notes the paradox that Sweden’s shift towards increasingly restrictive migration, citizenship and integration policies cannot simply be explained through poor integration policies. He quotes MIPEX which ranks Sweden as a leading model for integration policy, but stresses that political parties and public debate increasingly portray integration as a failure. He argues that the persistent “failure of integration” narrative has helped the Sweden Democrats gain ground in the country.

Our media focus this month

Interviews given in September by the MPG staff members have not been published yet and will be added to out October MPG-in-the-media digest.