It is ironic – and dangerous – that Europe’s anti-immigrant sentiment is peaking just when global structural changes are fundamentally shifting migration flows. The most important transformation is the emergence of new poles of attraction. Entrepreneurs, migrants with Ph.Ds, and those simply with a desire to improve their lives are flocking to places like Brazil, South Africa, Indonesia, Mexico, China, and India. In the coming decade, most of the growth in migration will take place in the global south. The West is no longer the Promised Land, placing at risk Europe’s ability to compete globally.
Read it at Project Syndicate
Europe’s Immigration Challenge by Peter Sutherland, former Director General of the GATT and the WTO, and Cecilia Malmstrom is EU Commissioner for Home Affairs and former Swedish Minister for Europe.