New MPI Report Examines Role of Civil Society in EU Migration Policy

In this report, Migration Policy Institute Associate Policy Analyst Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan examines some of the hurdles to such engagement: A lack of state willingness or capacity to engage civil-society organizations; insufficient policy knowledge or capacity by civil-society actors; and lack of government knowledge about how or whom to engage, among other factors.

As the European Union seeks to reach out to developing regions in its “neighborhood” of nearby countries, it has emphasized the importance of involving civil society in both agenda-setting and implementation. Yet EU policymakers have not clearly articulated how this engagement might be structured.

In effect, the question is not whether to engage, but how to do so. The challenge will be to go beyond pro forma consultations that merely check off a box that civil society was represented. State-civil society interactions — whether formal or informal — should yield benefits to both sets of actors that justify the investments of limited time and resources.

Click here to download the report