New Publications

27th EMN Bulletin

Read in English the 27th EMN Bulletin with the most important legislative and institutional developments in the area of migration, which took place in the Member States and in Norway during the period April-June 2019.

26th EMN Bulletin

Read in English the 26th EMN Bulletin with the most important legislative and institutional developments in the area of migration, which took place in the Member States and in Norway during the period January-March 2019.

25th EMN Bulletin

Read in English the 25th EMN Bulletin with the most important legislative and institutional developments in the area of migration, which took place in the Member States and in Norway during the period October -December 2018.

EMN Study on Impact of visa liberalisation on countries of destination

Visa liberalisation strengthens the ties between the EU and nationals of third countries

The European Migration Network (EMN) has now released a study on the impact of visa liberalisation on countries of destination, including deriving trends in 25 EU countries and Norway, for nationals of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, North Macedonia, Republic of Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine.

The benefits of visa liberalization to the EU Schengen area can be reaped, as of 2018, by five countries of the Western Balkans and three of the Eastern Partnership. They are all considered as safe and well-governed countries which are expected to meet a number of criteria as regards the following policy areas: borders, migration and asylum management, security, external relations and fundamental rights.

Below are the key research findings presented in the EMN Study:

· The direct impacts of visa liberalisation are an increase in short-term travel to the countries from visa-free countries to countries of destination and a noticeable reduction in the workload of consulate staff;

• A significant indirect impact is the facilitated access to the labour market in specific Member States;
• Visa liberalisation led to an overall increase in the number of asylum applicants from visa-free countries, most of which have received a negative decision;
• The number of nationals from visa-free countries who exceeded their maximum period of stay allowed after visa liberalization has increased;
• No specific challenges have been reported by most Member States in the area of illegal employment after visa liberalisation was introduced;
• No specific challenges were introduced by most Member States in the area of illegal employment following visa liberalization;
• Little evidence is available of an existing link between between visa liberalisation and the facilitation of irregular migration;
• An increase in criminal activities has become evident in several Member States following the liberalisation of the visa.

Click here to download the full study
Click here to download the Inform
Click here to download the one-pager (EMN Flash)

To read the national report for Greece you can download the text in Greek or English. This is the 2nd EMN study for 2018.

How did Member States react to the fluctuations of the influx of asylum seekers in 2014-2016?

The new EMN study on "Changing influx of asylum seekers 2014-2016: Member State responses" includes the responses of 24 EU Member States and Norway to the migration crisis in these countries through an overall presentation of the changes in national strategies, the approaches and the measures adopted as a response to the unprecedented migration flows.

Read the basic findings in the one-page EMN Flash and the 5-page EMN Inform or read the fully developed version in the Synthesis Report which concerns 24 Member States of the EU and Norway.

You can read the full text of the national report for Greece in Greek and in English. This is the 3rd EMN study for 2017.