European politicians talk endlessly about the rule of law, justice, human dignity and freedom of movement. But those words fade fast when the issue of migration pops up, replaced by endless efforts to stop migrants and refugees at the border or, failing that, strand them in border countries or imagine ways to push them back across the EU borders.

Of course, this same dynamic exists in the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia and other destination countries where concerns about migration are being weaponized by politicians who recognize political opportunity when they see it. In a year when Europeans will choose a new EU Parliament, the Americans a new president, and scores of other countries new leaders, migration seems to be on the ballot as much as democracy itself.

How should migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers be treated? How to balance political forces and legal commitments. Can the obvious competition to harden borders, be reversed? And from where will the leadership come for better policy?

Sergio Carrera, a migration expert at the Centre for European Policy Studies in Brussels, thinks that much of what passes for European migration policy is deeply flawed not only because it violates basic European values, but also because it is ineffective.

What do you think: should Europe welcome more migrants and refugees?