Vienna – ESI on migration management and democratic resilience at the Austrian School of Government

Vienna, Photo: flickr/Jorge Franganillo

ESI’s Gerald Knaus gave a talk on migration management hosted by the Austrian School of Government (ASG) in Vienna. The ASG, based at the Federal Chancellery, serves as the educational centre for Austria’s top executives in public administration.

In his talk, Gerald discussed ESI’s work on migration and European democracy. He noted that migration has become a tool of Vladimir Putin’s Russia to boost the far-right in Europe, taking advantage of the failure of democratic parties to create a legitimate, moral migration management system. Drawing on ESI’s proposals, Gerald pointed to the EU-Turkey Statement as a model for how well-designed migration management can both reduce irregular migration and save lives. He suggested that a similar approach could be applied to the English Channel, with an agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom. Under this model, migrants crossing the Channel irregularly would be returned, while the UK would commit to resettling a defined number of people through legal pathways. Once the program was running effectively, the same model could then be expanded to partners beyond Europe. Such partnerships, Gerald concluded, could restore orderly migration management, undermine smuggling networks, and undercut the far-right by demonstrating that democratic states are capable of managing migration in a humane and effective way.

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