Policy brief #66: Immigration Policies in Romania. Policy proposals regarding the protection of immigrants’ civil rights in Romania

The 2015 refugee crisis brought the topic of
migra on into the limelight of public debate in
Romania, from the point of view of Romania
as a des na on country. This situa on was
caused by the massive influx of people in
search of a safe haven away from the conflicts
in Syria and Afghanistan, people that were
trying to reach developed European countries
via the Balkan Route. The concentra on of a
large number of refugees in the European
Union (EU) Member States situated in the
Mediterranean (Italy and Greece) and the
transit to the West through countries such as
Macedonia, Serbia and Hungary – poorly
prepared to face such an influx – generated
tensions between the local popu on and the
immigrants, and these tensions were further
fuelled by the disagreements between
Member States themselves.