Landau – ESI on migration and refugee policy

24 November 2025
Landau. Photo: flickr/Harald Brendel
Landau. Photo: flickr/Harald Brendel

ESI’s Gerald Knaus travelled to Landau, Rhineland-Palatinate, for a discussion on migration and refugee policy. The event was organized as part of the Landauer Akademiegespräche speaker series, which invites experts and leaders to discuss central issues to democracy. The series is organized by the Frank-Loeb-Institut of the Rheinland-Pfälzische Technische Universität Kaiserslautern, the Evangelische Akademie der Pfalz, and the city of Landau.

On the panel, Gerald explained why sound migration policy is critical to protecting liberal democracy in Germany and Europe. Far-right parties, including the AfD, are rapidly gaining ground across Germany; their victory would pose an existential threat to both European integration and liberal democracy. Their success has been based on their effective identity-based narratives and fears about irregular migration. Harsh political rhetoric has not and will not itself solve the issue. Instead, democratic parties must urgently develop a more effective migration policy, rooted in the rule of law and offering hope rather than fear.

Gerald stressed that such solutions already exist. He noted the success of the 2016 EU–Turkey Statement, which caused a sharp fall in both illegal entries to Greece and migrant deaths in the Mediterranean. Similar cooperative arrangements could be developed again today. One example would be an agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom, under which all migrants attempting to cross the English Channel irregularly would be legally returned to the EU, while the United Kingdom would commit to legally resettling a defined number of migrants seeking to reach Britain. Such initiatives could be extended through partnerships with countries beyond Europe, helping to restore orderly migration management, ensure protection for those in need, and blunt the rising far-right in Europe – protecting our liberal democratic order.

Following his talk, Gerald engaged in a spirited, positive discussion of the issues with the assembled audience.