Exploring Migration Crisis in Europe 1995-2016

To escape political and economic challenges in the Middle East and Africa, many refugees and migrant are fleeing to seek asylum in Europe. Thus, Europe became overwhelmed with large influx of refugees in the last decades. The European Union (EU) member states have recently scrambled policy action to curb the increasing migrants entering Europe through the East, West, and Central Mediterranean Sea. The division in the European Union has led to the reemergence of nationalism which has weakened the foundation principle of the EU as a bloc. In the effort to contribute to the scholarly literature on migration crisis in Europe, this thesis aims to discover the current divide and attitude on migrant between members of the EU and how it threatens the stability of the EU. A combination of secondary and primary data was used to gather information. Articles, journals, newspapers, books, and unstructured interviews were used respectively. Based on the findings of this study, there are challenges in differentiating between refugees and migrants. Secondly, there is absence of cohesiveness in EU migration policies, and restoration of national identity among the EU members which has led to anti-immigrant perception. This study is of the idea that there is need to have common path to build strong EU policies. Additionally, the member states need to appreciate their differences and formulate mutual migration policies.