Multiculturalism at Stake, the Migrant/ Refugee Crisis and the EU Migration Policy in Transition: Crisis Management and Policy Responses & Challenges

Multiculturalism seems to be the most complicated challenge to the traditional models of democracy, according to Dahl. The paper initially deals with the ongoing theoretical debate concerning multiculturalism and cultural diversity. More specifically, it deals with Charles Taylor’s theoretical legacy on “equal worth”, “mutual recognition” and equal handling, as well as on the approach of moral liberalism and Will Kymlicka’s liberal theory of minority rights. It mainly focuses on moral liberalism, which traces its origins to the claim of overcoming the rigidity of procedural liberalism and to the countermeasure of the ‘value relativism’ of the Taylorian communitarians. It is positioned within the sphere of political liberalism and liberal ethical and political theory, with his emblematic figure being Will Kymlicka. Within this context, the paper analyses the main arguments, facets, characteristics and impact of moral liberalism’s approach to multiculturalism and provides a critical review of its key-determinants. Given the above-mentioned the paper proceeds in focusing on the EU Migration Policy during the decade 2015- 2025. Migration policy has become a central priority on the EU agenda, particularly since the 2015 refugee crisis reshaped political discourse and exposed the Union’s limited capacity for collective action. Despite initiatives such as the European Agenda on Migration (2015), the EU–Turkey Statement (2016), and the New Pact on Migration and Asylum (2024), Member States have failed to reach a genuine consensus on migration governance. National immigration systems remain poorly harmonized, reflecting continued reluctance to transfer sovereignty and to accept and integrate migrants and refugees. As a result, the EU’s migration framework has increasingly shifted toward a security-oriented approach, further reinforced by geopolitical pressures and the instrumentalization of migration by third countries. Although the New Pact represents a step forward, it still falls short of establishing a truly common European migration policy. Persistent divergences among Member States continue to undermine the effectiveness of asylum and migration governance, as illustrated by the long-standing and unresolved debate over the reform of the Dublin Regulation. Hence, the contribution of this paper is twofold. First, it seeks to unpack and present the key transformations of the EU migration policy, during the post-2015 period, using (among others) conceptual and analytical tools of the MSF on Crisis Management’s analysis, as well as our “Five Nodes” Approach to Migration Policy. Second, the paper, while briefly presenting key-data on the refugee flows, aims at casting the light on the Greek case and the impact of the abovementioned transformations in the both the EU and Greek Migration Policy on refugees and migrants, as well as on the Society-at-Large. The pendulum between national security & managing security risks and actual social inclusion seems to result in an increasing tendency towards the securitization of migration. That in its turn increase migrants’ refugees precarity. Last but not least, the paper proceeds in a critical overview of the current, rising, policy challenges, at the EU level, raising issues related to refuges/ migrants’ precarity, social inclusion and employability, within the framework of a potential skills-based approach to migration policy.