Migration Policy Practice is a bimonthly journal published jointly by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and Eurasylum Ltd. It only contributes articles from, and is overseen by, senior officials in Government, EU and international organizations, as well as civil society worldwide, working in the field of migration policy.

The focus of this edition of MPP is on border management and irregular migration, with special reference to current developments in the European Union.  This theme has risen considerably on the EU policy agenda over the last ten years. This can be explained, in particular, by the fact that the Schengen area currently extends along nearly 8,000 km of external land borders and nearly 43,000 km of external sea borders. The number of irregularly staying third-country nationals apprehended in the EU each year is in excess of 500,000 people. In addition, thousands of people are trafficked into the EU or within the EU every year.

This issue of MPP includes three articles which discuss some of the key tenets of the current EU border management strategy. The first article, by Myria Vassiliadou (the EU Anti-Trafficking Coordinator at the European Commission), is on ‘Current trends and policies in trafficking in human beings in the European Union’. The second article, by Tony Smith (Senior Director at the United Kingdom Border Agency), is on ‘the UK’s immigration control procedures during the London 2012 Olympic Games’. The last article, by Tony Mercer (a Director of Eurasylum Ltd), is on ‘modern-day challenges of border security’.  

Should you wish to contribute an article for a future issue of this journal, please contact Solon Ardittis (sardittis@eurasylum.org) and Frank Laczko (flaczko@iom.int).