Abstract
Immigration into the EU and the integration of those who have immigrated constitute two multifaceted and highly complex policy areas. These topics feature prominently in current political debates, which have been taking place at all levels of government in Europe. Debates have also been taking place within the centre-right European People's Party (EPP) and its member parties. In response, the Centre for European Studies (CES) and its member foundations, which are attached to the EPP member parties, have embarked on a joint research project on immigration and integration. The goal of this research project is to contribute to the ongoing debate, share knowledge between countries, highlight areas of EU-wide importance, and inform and improve immigration and integration policies at national and EU levels. The present publication has arisen out of this project.
The immigration and integration debate has been driven by both immediate and long-term policy considerations. The immediate considerations include the immigration of between 30,000 and 40,000 people from across the Mediterranean Sea following the political upheavals in the Arab world that started at the end of 2010. The arrival of North African and Sub-Saharan refugees was preceded by a debate on migrant integration in Western Europe. A speech given by the German Chancellor Angela Merkel in October 2010 caused reverberations across the EU. Merkel criticised one particular model of integration, multiculturalism. She stated that the multicultural concept that different communities should ‘live happily side by side, and be happy to be living with each other’ had ‘failed, and failed utterly’. Subsequent speeches by UK Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Nicolas Sarkozy highlighted the problems some immigrants face as they struggle to adapt to the European way of life.
The long-term considerations in the immigration and integration debate are just as pressing as those that have dominated the newspaper headlines over the past year. The opening of borders with former communist countries in Europe after 1989; along with changes in China; and poverty, wars and conflicts in Asia, Africa and Latin America, have provided the impetus for the migration of significantly more people than before. Immigration into the EU has been on the rise since the end of the 1980s. From 2004 to 2008 the EU population increased by 1.7 million people per year on average, due solely to immigration exceeding emigration. About 4% of the EU population now consists of citizens of ‘third countries’. In addition, millions of second- and third-generation immigrants now count as EU citizens.
Sharply differing views on immigration currently exist in Europe. On the one hand, there is the opinion that European societies can benefit from this increase in immigration by attracting people with skills and talent. From this viewpoint, the EU, which has been less successful than the US or Australia in attracting skilled migrants, should increase efforts in this area. It is argued that despite the economic recession, the EU had approximately four million unfilled vacancies in 2010, and many of these were in sectors such as engineering and technology.
Proponents cite further benefits of immigration. With Europe ageing due to low birth rates and advances in medicine and living standards, there is a general concern over the sustainability of Member States’ pension systems. It has therefore been suggested that immigration could help solve Europe's demographic problems, and in fact is necessary to guarantee the sustainability of the existing welfare systems. Moreover, in order to attract immigrants European governments need to tackle racial and religious discrimination and improve their policies concerning the integration of immigrants. Furthermore, advocates of immigration emphasise that the remittances that flow back to the countries of origin often exceed foreign investment and international aid programmes and therefore play a significant role in contributing to the stability of these societies.
However, others have pointed out the negative aspects of immigration. Opponents of immigration have concerns about the security of the EU's external borders, the burden that a large immigrant population can place on a country's welfare system during times of economic crisis and the ability of national and local governments to address the welfare needs of immigrants. In addition, the opponents argue that there are costs associated with providing education, social security and health care. They contend that there are also legal and administrative costs linked to immigration, for example in processing asylum claims and deporting people who have immigrated illegally. Furthermore, illegal immigration leads to thousands of migrants living in the EU but effectively outside the sphere of the law. As a result, these immigrants are often poor, exploited in the labour market and possibly the victims or perpetrators of crime. Finally, opponents of immigration sometimes argue that Islamic radicalisation, which has occurred within migrant communities in Europe, contributed to the terrorist attacks in Madrid (2004) and London (2005).
Debates on immigration and integration are often polarising and swayed by raw emotions. However, they can also suffer from being technocratic and mired in legal language. The CES and its member foundations have therefore identified a need for policy-oriented research to inform the debate in the Member States and at the EU level. At the CES cooperation and planning seminar in Brussels in April 2010, it was decided that immigration and integration would be given first priority in an ongoing programme of research cooperation between the CES and its member foundations.
With the CES playing a coordinating role in this research project, 14 of the 19 member foundations subsequently appointed authors to prepare country or regional studies. The CES itself appointed authors to prepare studies covering the EU and France. The authors of country chapters were invited to provide facts about immigrant populations and to describe immigration policies. They were asked to discuss different aspects of migrant integration, including the labour market, welfare, education and language policies, nationality, religion, security and migrant participation in civic and political life. The authors were also asked to address the views of the principal national political parties and to provide policy recommendations. In addition to country and regional chapters, the editor invited MEP Manfred Weber to provide a contribution on the views of the EPP Group. Finally, the editor wrote a short report on immigration from Arab countries, as well as a synthesis chapter. All chapters underwent a thorough editorial process, which included a peer review of country chapters by two fellow authors.
The publication resulting from this endeavour does not elaborate upon the theories of immigration. Instead, it is an in-depth survey of immigration and integration policies in the participating countries and regions and at the EU level. The publication's primary audience is the policymakers, politicians and staff of the member parties of the EPP and these parties’ political foundations; academics; and, more generally, all stakeholders in the areas of immigration and integration. Due to its wide scope and policy focus, the hope is that the volume will serve as a tool for policymakers.
The focus of the present research is immigration from ‘third countries’ and the integration of these immigrants and their descendants. Although intra-European migration is an important topic, it is beyond the scope of this publication. Finally, unless indicated otherwise, the contributions in the volume cover developments up until October 2010.