Our Director of Research Nermin Oruč participated at the Second MIRNet Conference “New Dynamics of East-West Migration and Migrant Integration Within Europe and Beyond”. The conference was hosted by the University of Sussex on behalf of the H2020 MIRNet consortium (Migration and Integration Research and Networking), 15–16 November 2021.
Nermin presented a paper titled “Governance of transit migration along the Balkan route during the COVID-19 crisis – the impact of the European Union” co-authored with Dragana Stoeckel and Natalija Perišić from the University of Belgrade. The paper was presented in Panel 3: Migration governance in the time of Covid-19: case studies of ‘crisis’ management in South-East Europe. This region is an important point of focus due to its geopolitical significance, especially since the ‘migrant crisis’ of 2015-16, which transformed its positioning in relation to European migration governance. Dynamic migration patterns have made SEE countries, to a varying extent, countries of origin, transit and destination. The Western Balkan countries experienced significant change, becoming one of the most populated migration routes into the EU. The panel comprehensively examined the “crisis” management through policy, media and behavioural lenses, and as related to different groups of migrants (irregular, regular and returnees). By interrogating intersections between migration, health, security and economic development, the panellists considered the impact of Covid-19 on different aspects of migration governance, such as border control, domestic socio-political parameters that have been steering decision making toward securitization of migration policies toward further “campization” of migrants as well as the patterns of interpretation of migration issues found in the media. Besides the governmental, media and NGO role, the panel provided insight into the intentions of Covid-19 triggered returnees in regard to permanently settling in their home country and potential solutions to mitigate emigration flows from the region.
More about the conference can be found here.
