Experts from Spain, Italy, and France warned on Wednesday that migration routes into the European Union are evolving faster than Brussels’ capacity to respond.
During a conference held at the European Parliament, analysts specializing in migration and security argued that the phenomenon can no longer be viewed solely through a humanitarian lens nor as a problem confined to border countries.
Growing pressure on the EU’s external borders, secondary movements within European space, and the deteriorating security situation in neighboring regions are turning migration into one of the European Union’s main strategic challenges.
One of the most repeated messages throughout the event was that illegal immigration has become a genuinely European problem. Although most arrivals are recorded in countries such as Spain, Italy, and Greece, a significant share of migrants subsequently move on to other member states, spreading the political, economic, and social impact across the continent.
Spanish analyst Rubén Pulido, who specializes in immigration and border security, focused much of his intervention on the evolution of the Atlantic route to the Canary Islands. According to Pulido, Spain has become one of the main gateways into Europe, and a substantial proportion of those arriving on Spanish territory ultimately relocate to other European countries.
Pulido argued that the migration debate can no longer be separated from security concerns. During his presentation, he warned about the growing connection between migration routes and the instability affecting the Sahel, a region where jihadist groups, criminal networks, and human trafficking organizations operate.
“We are no longer facing a simple humanitarian crisis or an exclusively migratory problem; we are facing a threat to the national security of our states,” he said during his intervention.
The Spanish analyst also pointed out that a growing share of migratory flows originates in countries such as Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Somalia, areas where jihadist activity continues to expand. In his view, European authorities are paying too much attention to migrant arrivals on European shores and too little to the dynamics operating along the routes that cross West Africa.
Italian analyst Alice Carrazza broadened the discussion by introducing a more geopolitical perspective. She argued that Europe continues to react to the consequences of migration without adequately addressing the factors driving migratory movements from increasingly unstable regions in the EU’s neighborhood.
For his part, French analyst Alexandre de Galzain maintained that the discussion is no longer focused solely on border control, but also on the integration capacity of European societies. According to his assessment, several cities across the continent are experiencing growing tensions linked to coexistence, social cohesion, and the emergence of communities that are becoming increasingly disconnected from the cultural and institutional framework of their host countries.
The debate also included representatives of Spain’s law enforcement agencies, who called for stronger European police cooperation against human trafficking networks, human smuggling, and document fraud. Police representatives stressed that securing the EU’s external borders and combating migrant smuggling networks require much closer coordination among member states.
For the experts gathered in Brussels, migration has become a test of the European Union’s ability to control its borders, coordinate common policies, and respond to one of the issues currently causing the greatest concern among European citizens.
