On September 28th, 2016, the Center for European Neighborhood Studies (CENS) at the Central European University in Budapest (CEU), together with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung –Budapest Office (FES) organized the international conference entitled Refugees' trajectories in the EU in the context of recent developments in Turkey. Where do we stand now? The event brought together scholars conducting research on the rights and status of refugees and migrants in the context of the recent refugee crisis.  

Much debated in the press, taking center stage in many EU member states political arenas, dividing people within countries, and countries within the EU, the issue of refugees has far reaching consequences in both practical and theoretical terms. From a pragmatic point of view, the handling of the matter raises many points such as border control or effective integration mechanisms. Moreover, the EU and its member states need to pay increasing attention to their relations with countries in the neighborhood, especially those on the refugees’ trajectory, such as Turkey. From a theoretical point of view, the refugee issue has called into question already established paradigms within the social sciences, such as those on multiculturalism or democratic transition and consolidation.

The conference was structured along two panels, and the opening speech was given by CENS director, professor Péter Balázs. He explained both the context in which the refugees crisis occurred and its consequences on the EU and its member states.

The first panel , entitled Turkey and the refugee crisis: approaches and prospects, focused on issues brought about by the refugee crisis in Turkey. As such, Deniz Sert, from the Ozyegin University in Istanbul discussed the status of refugees in the context of the most recent political transformations affecting Turkey, and offered a critical account of the situation on the ground. Emre Hatipoglu from Sabanci University presented research findings of an analysis conducted on social media aiming to explore common perceptions of Syrian refugees among the Turkish population. One of the conclusions of his study is that attitudes towards Syrian refugees are split along political party lines. Basak Yavcan from the TOBB University of Economics and Technology in Ankara also presented public opinion data regarding Turkish perceptions of the Syrian refugees and raised important problems of discrimination and child labor. Finally, Boróka Parászka, a journalist and editor at the Marosvásárhelyi Rádió in Romania, shared with the audience her experience of working in refugees camps in Turkey, and argued that neither the EU, nor Turkey are well-prepared to handle the refugee crisis in an efficient manner and more efforts should be made for improving living conditions.

The second panel - Refugees’ trajectories: from Turkey through Central and Eastern Europe and beyond – looked at how the refugee crisis impacts countries in the EU. Paul Levin from Stockholm University discussed integration of Syrian migrants into the Swedish society. He emphasized the need to consider issues of diaspora cohesion and preservation of ethnic and religious identities, which do not necessarily need to be obstacles in the face of integration. Lucia Najslova from the Charles University in Prague analyzed the relationship between the EU and Turkey in the context of the refugees crisis, and deplored the lack of a proper institutionalized dialogue. Finally, CENS’ own researchers, Bogdan Radu and Zselyke Tofalvi presented public opinion data regarding societal attitudes towards refugees in Central and Eastern European countries. They found that citizens in this region are less tolerant of diversity and less accommodating of potential incoming refugees than people in Western Europe. However, the data also shows that education is positively correlated with a more tolerant stance towards refugees and migrants across different countries