This issue of HAB, “A year after Valetta: What has changed?” focuses on the large volume of people migrating from the Middle East and Africa – fleeing conflict or poverty and heading to Europe. This issue coincides with the one-year anniversary of the Valletta Summit on Migration held in November 2015. In the first article “Inter-state and multilateral collaboration on migration and mobility in the post Valetta era: Key issues” the article aims to examine key patterns and issues in inter-state and multilateral collaboration on migration and mobility in the post-Valletta era. The following article: “The impact of externalization and securitization of border protection and asylum processes” looks at the impact of externalization and securitization of border protection and asylum processes within the context of migration and mobility. “ What does closing the Dadaab refugee camp mean?” discusses Kenya’s decision to close down the Dadaab refugee camp and repatriate about 340,000 refugees back to Somalia has finally been reached albeit without the blessings of the international community and aid organizations. This somehow resonates with the situation in Europe, where the EU and Turkey recently agreed to send mainly Syrian refugees back to Turkey from the Greek Islands. The next article: “No Lessons Learned: Europe’s unconditional engagement with the Eritrean regime” reflects on the patterns of EU cooperation with Eritrea, a process which has interestingly been dominated by the Eritrean leadership to an astonishing degree, and analyses the prospects of renewed cooperation between Europe and Eritrea: is there any chance that this renewed cooperation will lead to reforms which could curb the current mass exodus? “The Valletta Summit and the Eritrean refugee crisis” discusses the fact that Eritrea is one of the major source countries of refugees. It occupies a central place in contemporary debate on global migration.
