As the European Union ages, it’s increasingly dependent on migration to sustain its economies. Unfortunately, the bloc’s inability to manage this influx is warping its politics. Unless it can build a better system — one that combines credible border controls with economic opportunity — it risks further decline and fracture.

Each year, the EU loses about a million people of working age. In 22 of its 27 member states, the working population will shrink by 2050. From 2019 to 2023, nearly two-thirds of new jobs were filled by non-EU citizens. This surge has created significant pressures, both practical and political.

Frontline southern countries and wealthy northern ones have taken in huge flows of migrants since the 1990s. A refugee crisis that started in 2015 — with more than a million migrants arriving, mainly from Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria — exposed the weaknesses of the EU’s coordination efforts and created a lasting backlash. Millions of displaced Ukrainians have added to the stress since 2022.

Although these are big increases, absorbing such numbers should be manageable for a rich bloc of 450 million. Yet the EU’s dysfunction has made it harder than necessary. Three failures stand out.

First, asylum processing remains glacial in much of Europe, thanks to a lack of dedicated courts, processing capacity and pertinent data. In Germany, applications take more than eight months on average; in Ireland, they can take a year or more. Such delays leave applicants idle for long periods, thereby raising costs, worsening social problems and often giving voters the impression that their governments have lost control. The result is less support for immigration writ large.

Another problem is that underprepared local communities often bear the brunt of change. Many cities and towns simply lack the resources to accommodate large influxes of migrants, which helps breed resentment. Where voters see competition — for jobs, housing, services, benefits — rather than complementarity, populist and anti-immigrant parties are bound to flourish.

Third, the EU itself has done a poor job of managing the challenge. Brussels has relevant tools, including “cohesion funds,” intended to reduce regional disparities, and a range of measures to help integrate migrants. But their use has been uneven and opaque: Under the now-defunct Dublin Regulation, which aimed to divvy up asylum responsibilities among members, only 9% of transfer requests were ultimately honored.

Without reform, immigration is likely to remain a flashpoint in Europe for years to come. The goal for policymakers should be minimizing the social disruptions and maximizing the economic benefits. A few principles are worth emphasizing.

As a start, insist on integration. In responding to the refugee crisis, Germany paired labor-market support with language training and other services to good effect: Among those who arrived in 2015, the male employment rate now exceeds the national average, while the net fiscal burden has been less than feared. Such efforts are a prerequisite for getting immigration buy-in more broadly.

Next, focus on competent execution. Asylum claims must be resolved within months, with training and jobs for those likely to stay and swift returns for those rejected. Digitizing case systems, hiring more adjudicators and triaging cases will help. Seeing through a planned “migration pact,” which would impose common rules for border screening and asylum procedures, would be a step in the right direction. So would stricter rules on family reunification and lengths of stay.

Finally, a sustained EU effort to attract the most talented migrants — and to help the newly arrived acquire in-demand skills — will be key to convincing voters that the benefits of immigration outweigh the risks. Streamlined visas, improved mobility schemes and more flexible pathways for high-skilled workers will be essential.

Well-managed migration brings enormous opportunities. Without it, Europe will struggle to sustain growth, fund welfare systems and pull its global weight. And populist narratives — which thrive on the belief that nothing works — will grow harder to resist.

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The Editorial Board publishes the views of the editors across a range of national and global affairs.

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