A guest post by Veerle Joosen, recent graduate of the Sustainability Science, Policy & Society (SSPS) master’s degree at Maastricht University, whose thesis was supervised by Sonja Fransen, lead researcher of UNU-MERIT’s Comprehensive Innovation Team on Migration. Throughout my teenage years, my passion for sustainability-related issues has driven me to advocate for the well-being of our planet for future generations. In this blog, I outline the motivations behind the research in my ma...

A joint post by Dr. Katie Kuschminder, EUI / UNU-MERIT and Prof. Khalid Koser, UNU-MERIT. — The European Commission has decided to start returning migrants from other European countries back to Greece, lifting a ban on the practice that was put in place in 2011. The decision is influenced by concerns that 13,000 migrants recently disappeared from camps in Northern Greece and may have migrated onwards into Northern Europe. European leaders also want Greece to start returning migrants to Tur...

Greece was yesterday’s news. Today it’s still the refugee crisis. But tomorrow Greece may again make the headlines as the Tsipras Government pushes 200 major legislative changes through parliament — changes that will have far-reaching impacts on Greek society, writes PhD fellow Jasmina Haas. Such a programme would be a horrendous task for any effective government with a strong civil service; it would raise hell in any country for its impacts on society. It will be a massive burden on...

Greece has received unprecedented migrant arrivals over the past few years, being at the frontline of entry into the European Union. The EU’s Frontex agency has just released new figures showing that the Turkey-Greece border has again become the primary mode of entry into the EU, writes Dr. Katie Kuschminder. In May 2015, I interviewed several migrants, including recent arrivals to Athens on their experiences, future plans, and aspirations as part of the Irregular Migrant Decision Making F...

How much will other Europeans lose if Greece exits the euro? Will the ‘contagion’ spread to Italy, Portugal or Spain? Is this as much of a political as an economic crisis? Ahead of this weekend’s crucial referendum, these were among the questions put to Dr. Thomas Ziesemer — one of 70 Dutch economists who saw this coming back in 1997. From a purely economic perspective, how much will other Europeans lose if Greece exits the euro? TZ: It will be around 1000 euro per person, at least i...