More Coherence! External Dimensions of a Comprehensive Migration and Refugee Policy — Insights from Germany

In politics, we often hear calls for more coherence. Accordingly, policy fields should be seen in the context of their interlinkages and interactions, and political measures should be better aligned in order to prevent negative impacts and unnecessary expenditures. Yet it is often unclear what coherent policy means in practice, or what governance processes would achieve it. This applies to German migration and refugee policy as well. The year 2015 was particularly challenging for Germany: record numbers of asylum seekers meant that numerous domestic and foreign policy decisions, in some cases with significant medium- and long-term effects, had to be made on the run.

This report draws on the discussions of the Migration Strategy Group on International Cooperation and Development (MSG), which brought together representatives from civil society and political institutions, German and European business leaders and scholars, and representatives of international organizations. In its working group meetings the MSG discussed long-term policy approaches for a coherent migration and refugee policy with regard to three core foreign-policy levels and fields of action for Germany: at the global level, in EU policy with regard to migration partnerships, and concerning border security and return policies. 

Key insights:

• Policy Coherence requires developing and refining a process to identify common goals and interests and define priorities.

• Appropriate institutional frameworks are necessary to coordinate this process, both within governments and between governments. Germany has started to create such a framework between different departments but needs to strengthen it.

• In migration partnerships between countries, more transparency and clarity is needed as to expectations and goals of the partnerships on both sides. Collaboration and negotiations should take place on equal footing.

• Border security and repatriation are necessary elements of an effective migration management but a more objective approach to the debate is needed. Negotiations on returning rejected asylum claimants and options for legal migration should be conducted simultaneously between countries of destination and countries of origin. 

The Migration Strategy Group on International Cooperation and Development (MSG) is an initiative of the Bertelsmann Stiftung, the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) and the Robert Bosch Stiftung, in cooperation with the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP).

Introduction: Coherence in Migration Policy - What does this mean?

In politics, we often hear calls for more coherence. Accordingly, policy fields should be seen in the context of their interlinkages and interactions, and political measures should be better aligned in order to prevent negative impacts and unnecessary expenditures. Yet it is often unclear what coherent policy means in practice, or what governance processes would achieve it. This applies to German migration and refugee policy as well. The year 2015 was particularly challenging for Germany: record numbers of asylum seekers meant that numerous domestic and foreign policy decisions, in some cases with significant medium- and long-term effects, had to be made on the run. Moreover, there was often insufficient time to develop strategies to coordinate the various policy fields and levels. For the past two years, Germany has found itself in refugee- and migration-policy crisis mode, which has primarily concentrated on shortterm solutions. What is certain, however, is that forced displacement and migration will persist. We therefore need long-term policy approaches if we are to ensure the protection of refugees while, at the same time, managing skilled migration as well as facilitating immigrants’ integration. Germany, too, must combine these very different challenges, and consider the reforms necessary to accomplish these tasks.

For the past two years, Germany has found itself in refugee- and migration-policy crisis mode, which has primarily concentrated on shortterm solutions.

In addition to the domestic policy dimensions, coordinating external aspects of migration and refugee policy plays a key role. This external dimension is the focus of the publication. In Switzerland, this dimension is captured by the term of Migrationsaußenpolitik, or “foreign policy on migration.” According to the Swiss, this includes mitigation of the causes of forced displacement and access to protection, and applies both to the management of migration and forced displacement as well as the design of policies supporting return to and reintegration in countries of origin. Fundamentally, coping with these tasks requires that migration policy, foreign policy, security policy and development policy be better coordinated than has thus far been the case. All political levels − national, European and international − are affected by this. In addition to partnership agreements with third countries, coherent policy in this sense includes border management and return policies that respect human rights and take into account developmental implications.

What does coherence mean for policy?

The concept of policy coherence is not new. It has long been used in the context of development cooperation since the effectiveness of development-policy measures is influenced by other policy fields (e.g. trade policy), and development goals can only be achieved through interaction with other policy areas. Coherence can refer to various levels, but applies particularly to coordination between different policy fields and actors (states, international organizations, civil society, the private sector). Coherence thus represents an ongoing process in which interests must be identified, and goals and priorities formulated. The various interests can be balanced only once it becomes clear what an individual country like Germany is prioritizing vis-à-vis its partners, how these goals relate to one another and what consequences incoherent action would have. Appropriate institutional frameworks are necessary to coordinate this process.

Why is conherence necessary?

Given the growing instability in Europe’s neighboring countries, especially in North Africa and the Middle East, there is an urgent need for more effective and better aligned policy approaches

The demand for coherent migration policy is a response to the consequences of incoherent thinking and action. Take for example the recent refugee movements to Europe in 2015-2016. This was in part a consequence of the curtailment of UN World Food Program’s resources for refugee camps in Lebanon and Jordan, as well as elsewhere. If donor countries had together understood the consequences of these funding cuts for camps with already poor living conditions and lack of viable prospects for camp inhabitants, they might have grasped that they would prompt secondary migration flows.

Given the growing instability in Europe’s neighboring countries, especially in North Africa and the Middle East, there is an urgent need for more effective and better aligned policy approaches: How can the various aspects of migration and refugee policy be better linked together? What development, security, economic and labor-market policies must be considered in order to establish coherent migration policies?