“New Europe” interview with Bernd Hemingway, Director of the Brussels office for the International Organisation for Migration. Excerpts:
“What is your opinion of the European Union’s migration policy at the moment?
-We are receiving a lot of support, in particular from the European commission, but given the diversity of the substance we find ourselves very often kind of in a deadlock between bureaucracies of a different directors general, who are responsible for dealing with a different aspects of climate change, migration, adaptation policy, humanitarian assistance, environment, energy, so it is very very difficult to find an entry point and somebody who wants to have a look at this from this holistic approach that you really need to address it.
“How would you judge the differences of migration policies across the European Union?
-Where I see the EU heading, very much depends on the vote of the Irish people. Because if we will have the Lisbon Treaty, it will be a lot easy to have an integrated migration policy inside the EU and I think that is where the EU is basically heading at, because migration management is part of the first pillar.”
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