Orbán’s Referendum on Refugee Quotas Is Meaningless and Irresponsible The Hungarian government will hold a referendum in order to signal to Brussels that refugees are not welcome in Hungary. The referendum cannot influence EU policies, and may not even be legal. By Nóra Diószegi-Horváth
Refugees are holding up a mirror to Europe Opening remarks on the occasion of the "EU Quo Vadis?" Conference of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung in Berlin on May 26th, 2016 titled "Crossing Boundaries in European Asylum and Refugee Policy". By Ralf Fücks
Refugee crisis uncovers past shortfalls The EU needs a proper strategy that allows migrants a legal form of access. The current situation of the camps in and around the EU is unacceptable. The issue of clarifying immigration regulations for the EU must not be put off any longer. By Rebecca Harms
The refugee crisis - Paris and Berlin view through different lenses In France economic and social problems, terrorism and internal security are viewed as more important than the migrant crisis. Seeing the migrant flows as a result of conflicts in the Arab world they deal with the problem with military assistance. By Claire Demesmay
Turkey-EU refugee deal: the Turkish public opinion dimension Turkey is hosting some 2.7 million Syrian refugees. Only one tenth are in camps and the rest spread around urban areas. Local cultural and religious affinity with them has kept social friction low. By Ilke Toygür
Refugees in the Czech Republic? Not a trace – but still a problem Czech society is polarised by attitudes to refugees. This is absurd given that fact that only 1,156 have applied for asylum in a country of ten million people. Xenophobia and hysteria drive the debate. By Adéla Jurečková
The European refugee crisis - the Croatian view Due to their recent history many Croatians understand the plight of refugees. Others fear the influx of different cultural and religious influences, and the effects on the economic situation. By Emina Buzinkic
Migration, elections and extremism: the case of Slovak politics During the Slovak parliamentary election campaign even moderate parties adopted anti-immigrant language. But the strategy backfired and far-right politicians entered parliament. By Grigorij Mesežnikov
Germany and France locked in a refugee crisis: alone together Whilst the refugee crisis has dominated debates in Germany since 2015, it plays a subordinate role in France where the war on Islamist terrorism and tackling the problem with military intervention. By Julie Hamann
Syrian refugees in Lebanon – from war to legal void Thousands of Syrians have sought shelter in Lebanon. But having such a precarious status there and no legal recognition many feel their best option is to try entering the EU via the Mediterranean. By Bente Scheller