E.g., 02/03/2023
E.g., 02/03/2023
Europe

Europe

European Union

Europe faces an interesting set of immigration challenges and opportunities: Demographic pressures as many European societies age, a lively and at times tense policy and political debate over questions of identity and immigrant integration, and a unique policy environment that has knit many European countries together with regards to free movement, the management of outer borders, asylum, and other immigration-related topics. MPI has long conducted research and analysis of European policy on topics ranging from labor mobility and border security to immigrant integration, citizenship, and foreign qualifications recognition, which can be found below.

A flow chart showing the steps of the policy cycle
Policy Briefs

Promoting Evidence-Informed Immigrant Integration Policymaking

While many policy areas have seen a revolution in how information is gathered, shared, and used to inform new policies and improve existing ones, immigrant integration has not kept pace. This policy brief explores why integration policy in Europe has not yet seen the development of a robust evidence culture and offers recommendations for creating an environment in which evidence-informed policymaking can flourish.

Image of women and young children from Ukraine arriving at train station in Bucharest
Commentaries

Why the European Labor Market Integration of Displaced Ukrainians Is Defying Expectations

People displaced from Ukraine are finding work more rapidly in European countries than prior refugee cohorts. But uncertainty over how long they will stay, combined with hurdles such as language barriers, has meant many are prioritizing any job over the right job. This commentary examines how policymakers could address this waste of skills as they seek to fill pressing labor needs and facilitate deeper integration of the new arrivals.

Two women at a Sudanese community center rehabilitated by IOM and a local NGO
Policy Briefs

Embedding Reintegration Assistance for Returning Migrants in the Local Context: The Role of Referrals

Although European programs to support returning migrants’ reintegration into the communities where they settle have expanded and improved in recent years, returning—at times after years away—is never easy. This policy brief looks at how reintegration programs can adapt the assistance they provide to the local context and connect returnees with longer-term support through referrals, and what it takes to make these referrals successful.

Recent Activity

coverthumb Mainstreaming Germany
Reports
August 2014
Coordinating Immigrant Integration in Germany: Mainstreaming at the federal and local levels
By  Petra Bendel
EventPH2 2014.8.13 Giving Cities and Regions a Greater Voice in Immigration Policy
Multimedia
August 13, 2014
Giving Cities and Regions a Greater Voice in Immigration Policy
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Reports
August 2014
The Human-Capital Needs of Tech City, London
By  Max Nathan
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Reports
July 2014
Advancing Outcomes for All Minorities: Experiences of Mainstreaming Immigrant Integration Policy in the United Kingdom
By  Sundas Ali and Ben Gidley
Ankara
Articles
July 24, 2014
Turkey’s Evolving Migration Identity
By Rebecca Kilberg
Download Report
Reports
July 2014
Migration’s Local Dividends: How Cities and Regions Can Make the Most of Immigration (Transatlantic Council Statement)
By  Demetrios G. Papademetriou
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Commentaries
July 2014
An EU Commissioner for Migration? The Devil is in the Details
By  Elizabeth Collett
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Reports
July 2014
Moving Up or Standing Still? Access to Middle-Skilled Work for Newly Arrived Migrants in the European Union
By  Meghan Benton, Susan Fratzke and Madeleine Sumption

Pages

Feature
February 1, 2003
Germany's High Court Strikes Down Planned Immigration Law
The German Constitutional Court has blocked a landmark immigration law scheduled to take effect at the beginning of 2003, temporarily ending a running dispute between the ruling and opposition parties.
Feature
February 1, 2003
Sangatte Shutdown Signals New Anglo-French Cooperation
New measures by the United Kingdom to control illegal immigration, coupled with France's closure of a center long used as a base for asylum seekers trying to slip into the UK, signal fresh cooperation between London and Paris.
Feature
January 1, 2003
EU Sees Dip in Number of Asylum Applications
The number of asylum applications lodged with European Union countries fell slightly in 2001, and the number of requests received by particular countries varied enormously.
Feature
January 1, 2003
French Integration Policy: Old Goals in New Bottles?
France is introducing a new three-pronged approach to immigrant integration: a revised integration plan, a proactive campaign against discrimination, and a more open but still highly selective immigration policy.
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Profile
December 1, 2002
Portugal Seeks Balance of Emigration, Immigration

Portugal, long a land of seafarers and emigrants, is now witnessing increasingly diverse immigration flows, country-wide settlement, and rising immigrant skill levels. Jorge Malhieros of the University of Lisbon takes an in-depth look at the changes.

Pages

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Recent Activity

Reports
August 2014

Coordinating Immigrant Integration in Germany: Mainstreaming at the federal and local levels

In contrast to other European countries, the idea of "mainstreaming" immigrant integration policy has not caught on among policymakers in Germany. This report explores the history and recent trends of integration policy in Germany as well as obstacles facing policymakers moving forward.

Video
August 13, 2014

Giving Cities and Regions a Greater Voice in Immigration Policy

MPI researchers and representatives from London and Detroit discuss the policies and strategies used—at national and local levels—to attract immigrants into local economies.
Reports
August 2014

The Human-Capital Needs of Tech City, London

This report analyzes the importance of human capital to the development of London's Tech City and sets this discussion in a broader framework linking cities, digital sectors, and highly skilled immigration. Skilled migrants can play critical roles in economic development in high-tech clusters, but policies sometimes make it difficult for firms to make the most of immigration.
Reports
July 2014

Advancing Outcomes for All Minorities: Experiences of Mainstreaming Immigrant Integration Policy in the United Kingdom

This report explores the accelerating trend in the United Kingdom of mainstreaming of immigrant integration, in which policymakers seek to reach people with a migration background through needs-based social programming and policies that also target the general population. The report has particular focus on policies and programs used in London and Glasgow.
Articles
July 24, 2014

Turkey’s Evolving Migration Identity

Turkey’s migration identity has shifted from being principally a country of emigration and transit to becoming a destination for immigrants and people fleeing conflict. In response, Turkish policymakers recently enacted a comprehensive migration and asylum law that took effect in April 2014. This article examines the new law, which is intended as a significant step toward managing both legal and irregular migration to Turkey, including humanitarian migration.

Reports
July 2014

Migration’s Local Dividends: How Cities and Regions Can Make the Most of Immigration (Transatlantic Council Statement)

While cities and regions experience both the positive and negative effects of immigration firsthand, they are typically at arm’s length, at best, from the policy reins that enable and shape these movements. Immigration policies are rarely calibrated to regional, let alone local, needs. This Transatlantic Council on Migration Statement examines how policymakers at all levels can work together to get more out of immigration.

Commentaries
July 2014

An EU Commissioner for Migration? The Devil is in the Details

In the coming weeks, the President-Elect of the European Commission and leaders of the European Union will discuss the new institutional map of the European Union, including new portfolios for the incoming college of Commissioners. Despite the fact that immigration is a critical challenge for the European Union, it has become harder for EU institutions to forge a strong policy. Perhaps as a result of this disconnect, one of the key ideas on the table is to create a Commissioner for Migration.

Reports
July 2014

Moving Up or Standing Still? Access to Middle-Skilled Work for Newly Arrived Migrants in the European Union

The global economic crisis and changing migration patterns in Europe bring up questions about how well immigrants are able to find employment and progress into better jobs over time. This overview report caps a series of six country case studies evaluating the employment outcomes for foreign-born workers during their first decade in the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

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