A broad, open, political debate on international migration and migration policy is welcome. It is regrettable that the Demos / openDemocracy report on People Flow does not facilitate such a debate, nor does it offer an adequate introduction to the serious problems of current migration policy.
The report suggests reforms of a “social-engineering”-type, as if European migration were a matter of mere administration and not an extremely sensitive political question both within and between nation-states.
Fortunately, the language of People Flow is modest and open to counter-arguments. But the ideas it launches are far too abstract and simplified, and often quite remote from the political realities of European immigration policy. Several fundamental dilemmas remain neglected, as if they could be left outside the scope of this report.
