Description

Why does migration remain such a difficult issue for European governments, even when they promise tighter control?

Why Europe Struggles to Control Migration is a 35-page Behind the Headlines publication that explains what the daily news often leaves out: why different forms of migration are governed by different rules, why some can be reduced quickly, and why others depend on law, geography, diplomacy, administrative capacity, and cooperation with other countries.

It also explains why governments may tighten border and asylum policies while continuing to recruit foreign workers, how Europe’s aging population and labor shortages shape those decisions, and why migration policy can affect jobs, public services, housing, pensions, healthcare, and government spending.

The publication also examines the alternatives, including higher workforce participation, later retirement, automation, AI, fertility policy, and encouraging emigrants to return, along with the limits and timescales of each.

This is not an argument for or against immigration. It is an evidence-based explanation of why migration control in Europe is so difficult, what governments can actually change, and what the headlines usually leave unexplained.

35-page digital PDF · Instant download · €5.99

Information and law checked through September 2026.