Europe is currently witnessing its most significant refugee crisis since 1945.  Unprecedented numbers of people fleeing the conflicts in Syria and Iraq have sought to cross the European Union’s borders in search of safety and security.

But this humanitarian crisis is testing the unity of Europe too, caught between overall demographic decline and an anti-immigrant politics fuelled by the populist right.  Policy responses are shifting and dynamic.  Initial enthusiasm for the plight of the refugees is giving way to disputes over ‘burden sharing’.  Frontiers are being temporarily closed.  Barbed wire fences are being erected along Europe’s borders once again.   Divisions between ‘east’ and ‘west’ are manifest, all this adding to a Union already grappling with a severe economic crisis.

How can we explain these border crossings? How will they impact on politics within the European Union? What should the appropriate policy responses be? Please join us for a public panel that will seek to explore these questions.

Speakers:

Mrs Anna Petrášová, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of the Slovak Republic
Dr Ferenc Tóth, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Hungary
Professor Sharon Pickering, Director, Border Crossing Observatory, Monash University Dr Natalie Doyle, Co-Deputy Director, Centre for European Studies, Monash University

RSVP: [email protected] before 23rd Sep Refreshments will be served

More information on the Monash University website...