About the Transatlantic Council on Migration

The Transatlantic Council on Migration (TCM) is a unique deliberative body that examines vital policy issues and informs migration and immigrant integration policymaking processes in Europe and North America. Through rigorous research, high-level convenings, and tailored policy advice, the Council provides policymakers and stakeholders essential analysis to help tackle the most vexing policy questions.

Launched in 2008, the Transatlantic Council is an MPI initiative that was first convened by founding President, Demetrios G. Papademetriou. The Council’s work is generously supported by the governments of Australia, Canada, Germany, Norway, and Sweden, and the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

• Mission
• Approach
• History
• Council Statements
• Meetings

Mission

The Council aims to help inform the transatlantic migration and immigrant integration agenda and promote better-informed policymaking by proactively identifying critical policy issues, analyzing them in light of the best research, and bringing them to public attention. At the same time, it aims to serve as a resource for governments as they grapple with the challenges and opportunities associated with international migration. To achieve this, the Council conducts high-quality independent, evidence-based research drawing on some of the world’s top experts; convenes high-level, off-the-record forums to encourage candid debate between political leaders, policymakers, experts, civil-society leaders, and private-sector officials; and provides tailored advice to senior political leaders, including implementable policy ideas and the communications tools to speak persuasively about them.

Approach

To achieve this, the Council conducts high-quality independent, evidence-based research drawing on some of the world’s top experts; convenes high-level, off-the-record forums to encourage candid debate between political leaders, policymakers, experts, civil-society leaders, and private-sector officials; and provides tailored advice to senior political leaders, including implementable policy ideas and the communications tools to speak persuasively about them.

The Council explores a wide range of policy fields, including:

• Advancing social cohesion and social justice through more thoughtful citizenship and integration policies that focus equally on rights and responsibilities.
• Understanding and responding to public opinion on migration by improving policy communications and addressing the underlying drivers of public narratives on migration.
• Enhancing economic growth and addressing labor market needs through immigration.
• Encouraging and facilitating greater mobility through improved migration management and asylum systems, border procedures, and consular operations.
• Understanding better the complex links between migration and development.
• Rethinking how to provide refugees effective access to humanitarian protection.
• Exploring the vital role of international cooperation in migration governance, identifying what makes cooperation work in migration management, and utilizing cooperation during times of crisis.
• Navigating the future of mobility and borders in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

History

The Council succeeds the Transatlantic Task Force on Immigration and Integration, launched in 2006 by MPI and the Bertelsmann Stiftung.

Council Statements

Since its inception, the Council has released a statement after each convening, summarizing some of the key discussion points and findings to come out of the meeting. All Council Statements are available here. 

Meetings

The Council typically convenes twice a year, in the spring and fall, and also holds extraordinary meetings as necessary. All meetings are conducted under the Chatham House Rule. A list of all the prior meetings and related papers prepared for the Council meeetings can be accessed here, if hyperlinked:

April 2023 - Madrid
Building Effective Partnerships to Meet Shared Migration Goals

September 2022 - Berlin
Strengthening Resilience in the Age of Disruption

October 2021 - Virtual
Protection for Afghans at Risk: Addressing Unresolved Questions and Planning for the Future

June-July 2021 - Virtual
International Cooperation on Managing Migration and Borders

October-November 2020 - Virtual
A New Way Forward on International Cooperation on Migration

May, June, September 2020 - Virtual
International Mobility and Migration in the Age of COVID-19 and Future Pandemics

October 2019 - Brussels
Coming Together or Coming Apart? A New Phase of International Cooperation

February 2019 - Vienna
Rebuilding Community After Crisis: An Updated Social Contract for a New Migration Reality