Improving the evidence for European migration policy making

This policy brief synthesizes central results from quantitative migration and population projections that were produced as part of the FUME project. The projections model future migration flows to and within the EU and project the population in EU member states at an unprecedented level of detail, including by age, sex, level of education, and country of origin. In addition, FUME projections cover various spatial levels, from the international to the national to the local. This policy brief also describes how emerging big data sources were used to gain a better understanding of migration flows. It concludes by highlighting key messages and recommendations.

The Horizon 2020 project ‘Future migration scenarios for Europe (FUME)’ focuses on understanding the patterns, motivations, and modalities of migration at multiple geographical scales, from international through regional to the local, and on developing possible future scenarios of migration to Europe. These scenarios shall improve our understanding of the complexity and diversity of migration – and support migration policies, integration measures, labour market and cohesion policies at different governance levels.