A weeks-long ordeal for asylum seekers who had been stranded at sea concluded on Friday, as the French government granted safe harbor for the Ocean Viking rescue ship in the southern city of Toulon.

As a ship carrying more than 200 migrants rescued at sea docked in a French port on Friday, a diplomatic crisis between France and Italy worsened, signaling further chaos in the European Union's already erratic handling of asylum seekers coming to Europe.

After several days of diplomatic wrangling with Italy, France decided to 'exceptionally' allow the humanitarian ship Ocean Viking to dock. While maritime law requires the rescue of migrants in danger, it does not state which country should welcome them.

Around 42% of refugees settled in France manage to find a job within a year of obtaining official status. But the jobs they find are often far below their skill levels, resulting in a "professional downgrade" that leads to discontent and exhaustion.

Migrants who head to the United Kingdom often see it less as a panacea than a last-ditch means-to-an-end, according to Matthieu Tardis, an expert in migration policy at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI).

Since taking in more than a million people fleeing war and poverty in 2015, Europe has stepped up border controls but still falls short on common migration and asylum policies.

Both in the US and in Europe, border control has become one central component of immigration and asylum policies with seemingly the same objective: preventing irregular entries of migrants and refugees. This trend has accelerated in recent years, with ever stricter border controls, more detention of migrants and refugees, the use of the notion of “safe third country” and partnerships with third countries, some of which now play a pivotal role in controlling the borders of their US and European neighbors, such as Turkey and Mexico.

What are the differences and similarities in the policies implemented in the EU and the US? What is their impact on the fundamental rights of migrants and refugees? In both contexts, what relative weight is given to the rights of migrants and refugees on the one hand, and to border enforcement measures on the other? Finally, what long-term consequences will the COVID-19 crisis have on border policies in both cases?

Matthieu Tardis, Research Fellow at the Center for Migration and Citizenship spoke about the European Union's migration policy and the crisis at the Turkish-Greek border on Euronews's program, Now.

Smaller municipalities and rural areas can be places where refugees are welcomed and where they can integrate more easily. People living in rural areas are very proud of their towns and often make an effort to mobilize and include newcomers in their communities.