Time to debunk myths surrounding migration

Migrants will be vital for the future EU economy but the issue has attracted misinformation and rhetoric. Ignoring it any longer would be disastrous, writes Peter Sutherland

AT the height of the Arab Spring, many Europeans were gripped by nightmare visions of a tsunami of migrants crashing against the continent’s shores. The wave never hit, but its spectre fed a tenacious anti-immigrant populism that has concealed an important new trend: Migration to Europe — and to the US — has largely stalled.

In many countries, more immigrants are leaving than arriving, owing mainly to the economic crisis that has drained jobs in the West.