St. Gallen – ESI on the future of migration to Europe at St. Gallen Symposium

7 May 2026
Gerald on the panel in St. Gallen. Photo: St. Gallen Symposium
Gerald on the panel in St. Gallen. Photo: St. Gallen Symposium

ESI’s Gerald Knaus spoke on the panel ‘Demographic Crossroads: Navigating Ageing States and Migration’ at the St. Gallen Symposium, in St. Gallen, Switzerland. Joining him on the panel were Paul Morland, British Demographer and Author, as well as Michael Hüther, Vice-Chairman of the Atlantik-Brücke. The event was moderated by Sabine Rennefanz from Der Spiegel.

On the panel, Gerald noted that migration is a European reality – particularly in our present geographically turbulent times. The question then becomes how this migration can be effectively controlled in an ethical, humane manner that meets international legal norms. Doing so will be critical for countering the rise of the identitarian, nationalist far-right, which has used the failure to establish a migration system as a political tool.

Gerald argued that migration can be controlled if democratic governments establish clear and credible systems that combine border control with safe and organised pathways for protection. He noted that the 2016 EU-Turkey agreement demonstrated that such an approach can work in practice, leading both to a sharp reduction in irregular crossings and to a dramatic fall in deaths in the Mediterranean. He suggested that a similar arrangement should now be explored between the European Union and the United Kingdom, two partners with strong human rights traditions and a high level of mutual trust.