The book offers comparative and in depth analysis of circular migration by empirical analysis of seven pairs of countries.

This open access book adopts a rights-based approach to shed light on the different legal and policy instruments that have been developed to implement circular migration policies in the EU, and their consequences for the rights of migrant workers. It contributes to the understanding of the meaning of this concept in general and in the EU, as well as specifically regarding its Eastern neighborhood. The book provides a comprehensive picture of the formation and implementation of the EU's circular migration approach that has developed through both EU and national instruments, on the basis of comparative case study analysis of Bulgaria and Poland's migration laws and policies. By applying empirical legal research methods, it draws conclusions about the policy outcomes from the implementation of the various migration instruments falling under the circular migration umbrella and shows the consequences for the rights of migrant workers as a result of the application of different policy options. Along with its value to an academic audience, the book can be used by policy makers at the EU, international and national levels, as well as by international organisations and NGOs working in the field of migration law and policy.

The term 'circular migration' has become a buzzword among European and international policy and academic circles in recent years. Many national and EU policy makers have heralded the idea of 'circular' migration with great enthusiasm as the solution to many of 'our' migration 'problems', supposedly addressing at once labour market shortages (by providing quickly and flexibly labour force on demand) and the migrant integration challenges (since circular migrants are not there to stay and hence will create very limited if any integration challenges). This book studies the realities of circular migration on the ground by empirical analysis of seven pairs of countries: Greece-Albania, Italy-Albania; Italy-Morocco, Spain-Morocco; and Poland-Ukraine, Hungary-Ukraine, Italy-Ukraine. The book provides for a comparative and in depth analysis of circular migration between EU member states and countries in the EU's neighbourhood. It discusses critically the idea that circular migration is a triple-win situation (for migrants, states of origin, and destination countries) and looks at how relevant policies, migration statuses, labour markets, and other factors influence migrants' circulation. It poses and responds to the question whether circularity is a choice that brings higher economic and social or cultural gains than classical migration, or a necessity, a creative but not desirable strategy that migrants adopt in the absence of other options.

This collective volume draws on the themes of intersectionality and overlapping policy universes to examine and evaluate the shifting functions, frames and multiple actors and instruments of an ongoing and revitalized cooperation in EU external migration and asylum policies with third states. The contributions are based on problem-driven research and seek to develop bottom-up, policy-oriented solutions, while taking into account global, EU-based and local perspectives, and the shifting universes of EU migration, border and asylum policies. In 15 chapters, we explore the multifaceted dimensions of the EU external migration policy and its evolution in the post-crisis, geopolitical environment of the Global Compacts.

In Europe, immigration is a politically potent issue—especially when it comes to the treatment of asylum seekers and illegal labor immigrants. This volume draws the reader into the complex and contradictory world of migration regulation and control, covering the wide range of different policy approaches that aim to control the entry and residence of non-EU citizens. Revealing the common framework, tendencies, and policy convergences brought about less by design than a common concern about migration’s impact on the future of the EU, Modes of Migration Regulation and Control in Europe questions the effectiveness of additional efforts in terms of their fiscal and societal costs. “This important book emphasizes that European countries individually and collectively are converging in their efforts to manage migration.”—Philip Martin, University of California, Davis

This open access book explores the conceptual challenges posed by the presence of migrants with irregular immigration status in Europe and the evolving policy responses at European, national and municipal level. It addresses the conceptual and policy issues raised, post-entry, by this particular section of the migrant population. Drawing on evidence from different parts of Europe, the book takes the reader through philosophical and ethical dilemmas, legal and sociological analysis to questions of public policy and governance before addressing the concrete ways in which those questions are posed in current policy agendas from the international to the local level. As such this book is a valuable read to researchers, practitioners and policy makers as well as to students working on irregular migration in Europe in a comparative and/or country based perspective.