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Immigrant Integration in
Europe: Meeting Today's
Pressing Challenges
LODE DRAELANTS, INTERNATIONAL COMITE
GEERT ROUKAERTS, REGIONAL
INTEGRATION CENTER FOYER
EMILY SCHMIDT, CDS INTERNATIONAL
Forming a Transatlantic Perspective
 integrationXchange
 April 2007-October 2008
 60 participants total from Hamburg and New York
 US-Belgium Cultural Crossing
 March 2008-December 2008
 42 participants from Brussels, Antwerp & Liège and Atlanta,
Colorado, Detroit, & Seattle
Agenda
 Political and demographic overview
 Political structures
 Paths to citizenship
 Belgian integration snapshot
 German integration snapshot
 European integration initiatives
 Resources
Map of Europe
Key Statistics
Size
Population
Growth Rate
Median Household
Income
College Diploma
Holders
Religion
United States
Belgium
Germany
9.8 million km2
9th largest worldwide
30,000 km2
147th largest worldwide
357,000 km2
69th largest worldwide
307 million
10 million
82 million
.975%
0.094%
-0.053%
39%
33%
25%
51% Protestant, 24%
Roman Catholic, 3%
other Christian, 2%
Jewish, 1% Muslim,
12% Unaffiliated
75% Roman Catholic,
3.6% Muslim
34% Protestant, 34%
Roman Catholic, 3.7%
Muslim, 28.3
Unaffiliated or other
$50,740
Immigration Statistics
United States
Belgium
Germany
Foreign-born
population
12.1%
12.3%
8.8%
Net Migration
Rate
4.31
migrants/1000
population (25)
1.22
migrants/1000
population (53)
2.19
migrants/1000
population (40)
18% from Mexico
5% from China
4% from
Philippines
4% from India
63% from EU
countries
13% from Morocco
8% from Turkey
26% from Turkey
32%
10%
Significant sending
countries
Undocumented
Political Structure and Parties
 Immigration vs. Integration Policy
 2000 – European framework for immigration with individual Member
States responsible for implementation
 Integration governed by local states within each Member State
 Belgium
 Multi-party system with strong recent debate about country/state
structure
 Political parties have different platforms across Belgian states and
language communities
 2008 – first federal minister of integration
 Germany
 Multi-party system with “grand coalition” since 2005
 2007 – first national plan for integration
European Immigration History
 (Im)Migration since 19th century
 Europe: different migrationstories
 Past: 3 factors migration:
 Push
 Pull
 Network
 Migration with two faces !
Phases in European Immigration
 1946 – 1974 : immigration to work




Italy
Spain – Greece
Inactive people
Marocco – Turkey
 1974 – 1983 : migration stop
 1983 – 1999 : “Fort Europe”


Asylum
1992 : black Sunday: Vlaams belang
 Since 1999 (EU: Pact of Amsterdam): a new factor: global
approach (EU common approch)
Key Issues in Today’s Immigration Debate
 Employment-based immigration
 Regularization
 Post 9/11 – role of Islam in Europe
 Turkey’s acceptance into European Union
 Gaps in educational attainment
German Immigration Policy
 Guest worker policy – 1955 to 1973
 1945 – present – Aussiedler (ethnic German)





immigration from eastern Europe and then Russia
Temporary asylum program for Bosnia-Herzegovina
1988 – present – new guest worker program
1993 –tightening of asylum laws
2000 – Skilled worker program introduced
2005 reform


Green Card program for skilled workers and entrepreneurs
One-year optional practical training for students
Citizenship in Germany
 New law effective January 1, 2000
 Conditions for children with non-German parents
 Born after January 1, 2000
 One parent resident in Germany for at least 8 years and have
at least a 3-year unlimited residence permit.
 Between ages 18 and 23, decision must be made to retain
German citizenship or the parent’s citizenship
Citizenship in Belgium
 Major reforms
 1984 –citizenship granted only if mother is Belgian with
grandfather clause for those already in Belgium
 1992 – Declaration of Nationality granting rights to 18-yearolds born and raised in Belgium
 2000 – Citizenship granted to 3rd generation descendants
 Key questions
 Options for skilled labor migration?
 What is Belgian identity / culture?
 What is required of a newcomer?
Questions
 ….
Integration in Belgium
 Key Considerations
 Language
 Education
 Identity
 Religion
 Discrimination
 Radicalization
 Spokespeople and role models
Language
 Differing language requirements for immigrants
state by state and region by region
 Multiple official or quasi-official languages
 European vision requires multilingualism
 Difficult to embrace a large number of foreign
languages
Education
 Different socialization mandates for schools
 Tracking systems
 Presence of minority teachers
 Expectations of minority children
Germany’s Education System
Discussion
Towards a common European Union immigration policy
 All members states of the EU have agreed to
developed a common immigration policy at EU level.
 Main objective:
 to better manage migration flows by a coordinated approach
which takes into account the economic and demographic
situation of the EU.
The EU and integration:
a common framework for the integration of third-country nationals
Tampere European Council
 In October 1999 at the European Council meeting in
Tampere (Finland), the leaders of the European
Union (EU) called for a common immigration policy
which would include more dynamic policies to
ensure the integration of third-country nationals
residing in the European Union.
 They agreed that the aim of this integration policy
should be to grant third-country nationals rights and
obligations comparable to those of citizens of the EU.
The Hague Programme
and the Common Basic Principles
 The Hague Programme adopted by the European Council on
4-5 November 2004 underlined the need for greater coordination of national integration policies and EU initiatives
in this field. It further stated that a framework, based on
common basic principles, should form the foundation for
future initiatives in the EU. The Justice and Home Affairs
(JHA) Council of 19 November 2004 adopted such Common
Basic Principles (CBPs) and these underline the importance of
a holistic approach to integration. Those principles were
further developed in the Common Agenda for Integration
which was put forward by the Commission in September
2005.
Ministerial Conferences
 To continue the political debate initiated at the first
Ministerial Conference on integration of Groningen
in 2004, an Informal Meeting of EU Ministers
Responsible for Integration took place in May 2007
in Potsdam.
 A third Ministerial Conference was held in Vichy in
November 2008.
 National Contact Points on Integration
 Handbook on Integration for policy-makers and practitioners
 European Fund for the Integration of third-country nationals
 European Integration Forum gathering representatives of civil
society - http://ec.europa.eu/ewsi/en/index.cfm
 European Commission against Racism and Intolerance
http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/ecri/default_en.asp
Discussion
http://www.elections2009-results.eu/
European election June 2009
338 million Europeans - 27 countries - turnout : 43% in 2009 – seats: 736
Political group
Number of seats
Score in %
EPP
264
35.9
PES
161
21.9
ALDE
80
10.9
GREENS/EFA
53
UEN
Election
year
Men
(%)
Women
(%)
1979
84
16
1984
82
18
1989
81
19
7.2
1994
74
26
35
4.8
1999
70
30
GUE/NGL
32
4.3
2004
69
31
IND/DEM
18
2.4
2009
?
?
Others
93
12.6
Legend:
EPP : Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats)
PES : Socialist Group in the European Parliament
ALDE : Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
UEN : Union for Europe of the Nations Group
GREENS/ EFA : Group of the Greens / European Free Alliance
GUE/ NGL : Confederal Group of the European United Left - Nordic Green Left
IND/ DEM : Independence/Democracy Group
Others : Popular, Extreme right
Without prejudice to the composition of the EP at the inaugural session on 14 July 2009
Source: TNS opinion in collaboration with the EP.