E.g., 01/30/2023
E.g., 01/30/2023
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

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Articles
December 10, 2014
The Points System Is Dead, Long Live the Points System
By Madeleine Sumption
EVENTPH 2014.11.18 Better Work for Immigrants in EU2
Multimedia
November 18, 2014
Better Work for Immigrants: Tackling Joblessness and Stunted Progression in the European Union
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Reports
November 2014
Aiming Higher: Policies to Get Immigrants into Middle-Skilled Work in Europe
By  Meghan Benton, Madeleine Sumption, Kristine Alsvik, Susan Fratzke, Christiane Kuptsch and Demetrios G. Papademetriou
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Policy Briefs
November 2014
Language Support for Youth with a Migrant Background: Policies that Effectively Promote Inclusion
By  Hanna Siarova and Miquel Àngel Essomba
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Policy Briefs
November 2014
Developing School Capacity for Diversity
By  Sabine Severiens
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Policy Briefs
November 2014
Mentoring: What Can Support Projects Achieve That Schools Cannot?
By  Maurice Crul and Jens Schneider
coverthumb SIRIUS Overview
Policy Briefs
November 2014
Enhancing EU Education Policy: Building a Framework to Help Young People of Migrant Background Succeed
By  Miquel Àngel Essomba
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Reports
October 2014
Investing in the Future: Labor Market Integration Policies for New Immigrants in Germany
By  Carola Burkert and Anette Haas

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Profile
October 1, 2003
Belgium's Immigration Policy Brings Renewal and Challenges
Marco Martiniello and Andrea Rea examine how immigration has made Belgium a multicultural society in perpetual renewal.
Feature
October 1, 2003
Swiss Court Halts Local Plebiscites on Naturalization

Veysel Oezcan of Humboldt University Berlin reports on a Swiss ruling that bars communities from holding plebiscites to approve or reject naturalization applications.

Feature
October 1, 2003
The Challenges of Integration for the EU

The EU can use several unique levers to promote integration policy, according to Sarah Spencer of the Institute for Public Policy Research.

Feature
September 1, 2003
Resettlement in the Nordic Countries
The efforts of Nordic countries to provide safe harbor to refugees are outlined by Mette Honore, Senior Legal Consultant to the Danish Refugee Council.
Feature
August 1, 2003
French Muslims, Government Grapple With Integration Pains
France's traditions of secularism and Roman Catholicism are being tested as the country tries to integrate a growing Muslim population, according to Patrick Simon of INED.

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Recent Activity

Articles
December 10, 2014

The Points System Is Dead, Long Live the Points System

2014 marked the quiet demise worldwide of the traditional points system for selecting skilled immigrants. Canada, which in 1969 invented the points system, in 2015 will join other countries in adopting a hybrid system that places more emphasis on a demand-driven system. This article examines how following the economic crisis, governments have revamped, hybridized, or ended such programs.

Video, Audio
November 18, 2014

Better Work for Immigrants: Tackling Joblessness and Stunted Progression in the European Union

A day-long conference in Brussels, co-sponsored by the International Labour Office and the European Commision’s Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs, and Inclusion, where panelists discuss the dynamics by which migrants get stuck in low-skilled work, and the role of training and employment services in helping them progress in their occupations. The conference concludes a project and series of reports prepared on the Labor Market Integration of New Arrivals in Europe. 

Reports
November 2014

Aiming Higher: Policies to Get Immigrants into Middle-Skilled Work in Europe

This report is the final one in an MPI-International Labour Office series that examines the employment prospects of migrants in the EU (focusing on the case-study countries of the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom), as well as the effectiveness of integration and workforce development policies in helping these workers overcome barriers and ascend out of low-skilled work.
Policy Briefs
November 2014

Language Support for Youth with a Migrant Background: Policies that Effectively Promote Inclusion

It is crucial for children of migrant background in Europe to become proficient in their host country's main language of instruction. This MPI Europe policy brief provides key points and good practice examples on what comprehensive language support in Europe might look like.
Policy Briefs
November 2014

Developing School Capacity for Diversity

For children of migrant background, school quality is critical to ensuring academic success. This MPI Europe policy brief examines how European policymakers can support school quality in four key areas: language diversity, the learning environment, social psychology and acculturation, and community connections.
Policy Briefs
November 2014

Mentoring: What Can Support Projects Achieve That Schools Cannot?

Mentoring programs can target many core needs of children with an immigrant background that schools are not equipped to address, by providing specific and personalized support on the road to academic success. This policy brief prepared for the SIRIUS Network explores how European Union policymakers can make mentoring projects an integral part of the educational landscape at the EU level.
Policy Briefs
November 2014

Enhancing EU Education Policy: Building a Framework to Help Young People of Migrant Background Succeed

Whilst many European countries have well-established education systems, children with a migrant background are disproportionately among the underperformers and face a number of critical education needs that mainstream education policy does not currently meet. This policy brief prepared for the SIRIUS Network provides an overview of how education policies can be improved for children of migrant background.
Reports
October 2014

Investing in the Future: Labor Market Integration Policies for New Immigrants in Germany

Against the backdrop of an aging population and shrinking labor force, German policymakers have been giving greater priority to policies that ensure that immigrants are able to make their way into middle-skilled work. This report assesses recent policy developments designed to facilitate the labor market advancement of new arrivals in Germany.

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