Shipwrecked. Rethinking migration and asylum in Europe

Over 130 experts from all over the world will take part in this international congress held on 24-25 June 2024 in Thessaloniki, in a busy programme of workshops, open conference, networking meetings and side events. There they will examine different aspects of the issue, from the criminalisation of people on the move to border violence and from the LGBTQI+ asylum seekers to the role of local government. In a Europe shaken by the rise of the far right and adopting ever stricter pacts on migration and asylum, what can the resilience of the Rule of Law be?

We stand at a crossroads regarding migration and asylum policies in Europe: After years of unsuccessful negotiations, the EU co-legislators agreed to a reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS). Based on the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, as proposed by the Commission, the Council and the Parliament agreed to grave changes on all core regulations in the field of asylum and migration with severe negative consequences for people on the move. The Pact follows a trend which we saw unfolding the last years: member states have lowered their reception standards and increased border controls and all means to deter as many as possible from arriving in Europe, including illegal pushbacks. Anti-migration narratives and right-wing populists’ parties and movements are on the rise in many states across the continent, and migration, as well as those in solidarity with people on the move, are increasingly pressured and even criminalised.

However, people have not stopped trying to reach the EU in search of protection. In view of the ongoing and ever deepening global crises, they will not stop either. On the contrary, despite all attempts to curb migration, last year has seen a rise in the number of asylum seekers reaching the European Union to over 1 million people, in addition to over 5 million refugees under temporary protection from Ukraine, which is the highest number since the years which were widely framed as “migration-crisis” years in 2015-16.

In addition to the New Pact, we will soon be confronted with new political realities in the EU after the European Parliament elections in June.

In light of all these changes and challenges, we as Heinrich Böll Foundation would like to invite our partners and other civil society organisations, activists, lawyers, journalists, academics and politicians from all over Europe, particularly from the Balkans and the Mediterranean, to exchange on and rethink the state and future of migration and asylum in Europe. We aim at creating a space for joint analysis but also for strategies for action and ways ahead.

Language: English

Find all the information about the congress

Connect to watch the live stream of the open conference on 25/6

Check out the speakers’ and facilitators’ profiles

Agenda

Monday, 24 June

• 09:30-13:00 Workshops participation upon registration – More on the workshops here
• 14:30-17:30 Workshops participation upon registration
• 20:00 Photo exhibition – Opening (Toss Gallery, 1 Vilara st.) open event - free entrance – More on the photo exhibition here

Tuesday, 25 June

• 09:00-13:00 Public conference (Olympion, 10 Aristotelous square) open event - free entrance – More on the public conference here
• 15:30-17:30 Agora of Ideas – An open space for networking and exchange participation upon registration – More on the Agora of Ideas here
• 20:30 Open-air concert (Mavili square) open event - free entrance – More on the concert here

Organised by: Heinrich Böll Stiftung, Thessaloniki Office

Co-organised by: Heinrich Böll Stiftung, Brussels Office – European Union & Heinrich Böll Stiftung, Paris Office

Supported by: Heinrich Böll Stiftung, Beirut Office & Heinrich Böll Stiftung, Istanbul Office