Shada Islam is a Senior Programme Executive with the European Policy Centre think tank in Brussels, where she is an expert on immigration, Europe-Asia relations and the integration of Muslims in Europe. Born in Pakistan, Shada Islam has covered the EU as a journalist for over 20 years. She was the European Union correspondent for the Far Eastern Economic Review until its demise and headed the Brussels office of the English-language service of DPA, the German Press Agency.

Pull-out quote: “Europe lives in a bit of a la-la land.”