Arab Youth Migration to the EU: A Critical Reading of European Migration Policy

Abstract

The Arab countries form a space for migration flows. The Arab Mashreq and Maghreb, for reasons connected to demographic transition and economic, social, and political conditions in the region, constitute an enormous reservoir of young workers highly inclined to emigrate. In view of these facts, migration is a key challenge for relations between recipient and source states. The EU has been a traditional destination for Arab youth, but after the EU adopted security-based policies and laws, starting in the 1980s, these young migrants are facing a system littered with contradictions. This paper highlights these factors while explaining the triggers motivating the adoption of a new European policy based on a triple-win approach for all stakeholders: the dispatching states, receiving states, and the migrants themselves.