The Challenges of Integration for the EU

OCTOBER 1, 2003
F E AT U R E

By Sarah Spencer

Migration is a growing and permanent part of Europe's future. Two

factors have led to pressure for a more effective EU strategy to
promote the economic, social, cultural, and political integration of
migrants and the next generation: recognition of the failure to
integrate past migrants effectively, and concern about rising support
for the far right. European countries have differing views on both the
goals of integration and the most appropriate strategies to achieve it.
Nevertheless, the EU does have at its disposal several unique levers to
make an effective contribution to the development of integration
policy, complementing the primary responsibility of its member states.
Diversity of Integration Experiences
Some 13-14 million third-country nationals live in the EU, some four
percent of the population. A number of patterns, however, make the
issue more significant than this statistic would suggest. Immigrants
remain concentrated in particular regions and cities, and may remain
excluded even after they and their second-generation offspring have
become nationals. EU nationals can themselves face barriers to
integration outside their own countries but within the union (e.g.,
Portuguese immigrants in Northern Ireland).
Net migration into Europe is increasing, and is now the largest
component of population change. Migrants, moreover, come from a far
wider range of countries, and bring a greater diversity of languages
and cultures, than in the past. Some European states have only
recently become countries of immigration, with no experience of
integration strategies.
Migrants bring significant economic and cultural benefits. Some
newcomers are very successful in the labor market and enjoy positive
relations with other residents. But there is substantial evidence that
many face disadvantages on all the key indexes of integration: legal
rights, education, employment, criminal justice, health, living
conditions, and civic participation. Moreover, migrants and the second

generation can be well integrated on one index (such as

intermarriage), but not on others (such as high unemployment).
Migration's Permanence and Impact
One of the factors leading to an increased focus on integration at the
EU level is the belated recognition that migration will be a permanent
part of Europe's future. The workers who come to fill skills and labor
shortages, refugees, overseas students, and family members who
arrive to join immigrant relatives will require a level of incorporation,
whether they stay temporarily or permanently. If states are to compete
for the "brightest and best," potential migrants must be confident that
they will not face discrimination and exclusion. Moreover, EU states
cannot afford to neglect the talents of migrants already in the
workforce.
Ten new countries will join the EU in 2004, leading to greater mobility
of migrants (including of Roma communities). A desire to ensure that
their arrival does not provoke tensions, and that the new EU citizens
experience equality of opportunity with other EU nationals, also needs
to be expressed in policy initiatives.
Public resentment of migrants and fear of difference leads to
discrimination, community tensions, and occasional violence. In
addition, it has contributed to the rise in support for far-right political
parties, which successfully exploit people's fears and resentments.
Public anxiety about Muslim minorities (in particular since the
September 11 terrorist attacks), subsequent international conflicts, and
vocal hostility towards Muslims in Europe all point to the need for a
comprehensive integration strategy.
This need has yet to be addressed effectively at the national level. A
minority of disillusioned, alienated migrants seeks an alternative sense
of identity and purpose by joining fundamentalist groups, thereby
further segregating themselves from mainstream society.
A Role for the European Union
The EU has long recognized that integration is a necessary part of a
comprehensive immigration and refugee strategy. The 1999 European
Council in Tampere found a new willingness to cooperate in developing

that comprehensive strategy, addressing integration under the heading

of "fair treatment of third-country nationals."
Primary responsibility for integration lies at the national and local
levels. But EU goals in relation to immigration, economic growth, and
social cohesion all require a focus on integration. The EU has the ability
to address a range of issues vital to integration through post-entry
rules on immigrants and refugees (e.g., in its directive on family
reunification); its laws on racial and religious discrimination; targeted
efforts for migrants such as the "Equal" program; and its (currently
marginal) attention to integration in mainstream strategies on
employment, social inclusion, and health.
Since the Amsterdam Treaty of 1999, the EU has had a mandate to
require member states to address discrimination on grounds of race
and religion. Directives now require member states to legislate on
racial discrimination in employment, goods, and services; to establish a
statutory body to provide assistance to individual victims; and to ban
religious discrimination in employment by December 2003. The JHA
Council in October 2002 asked the European Commission to come
forward with proposals for a more comprehensive integration strategy.
A communication from the European Commission on immigration,
integration, and employment was published in June 2003.
Possible Roads Forward
An effective EU strategy will have to move beyond the provision of
common minimum legal standards and information-sharing to the use
of its unique levers to promote integration, including:
1.

Establishing a mechanism for dialogue and coordination among

member states and across the Commission to develop and share good
practice on essential elements of an integration strategy such as
induction programmes for new migrants.
2.
Reviewing existing and proposed EU immigration and asylum
measures to ensure that they provide migrants with a secure legal
status, rights and responsibilities that reflect their temporary or
permanent status, and the maximum possible access to the rights that
promote integrationincluding employment and family reunification.
3.
Taking active responsibility for leading a balanced, informed,
public debate about the reasons migrants are in Europe by putting into

4.

5.

6.
7.

8.

9.

the public domain information about the contribution they make and
barriers they experience, acknowledging public fears, and correcting
misinformation.
Promoting contact between people from different religious and
cultural backgrounds and building a consensus that racial prejudice is
socially unacceptable.
Taking steps to promote a common understanding across
member states of the barriers to integration and of effective steps to
address them within and beyond the labor market through data
collection, research, monitoring initiatives, and dissemination.
Ensuring implementation of the EU discrimination directives and
establishment of effective bodies to promote and enforce them.
Engaging member states, the social partners, NGOs, and migrant
organizations, learning from them, sharing ideas on good practice, and
enabling migrants to contribute to decision-making, as an essential
element of civic participation.
Conducting a review to identify which EU policies, programs,
budgets, and policy levers are most relevant to integration, including
strategies on employment, social inclusion, and health, and ensure
that integration objectives are mainstreamed within them.
Reconsidering the bar on employment of third-country nationals
within the Commission.
Conclusion: Obstacles to Agreement on EU strategy
There have been three obstacles to securing agreement on a
substantive, EU-wide integration strategy. The first is fear of public
resistance to migrants, and to EU involvement in their conditions of
stay. Second, the key levers for integration (such as employment policy
and family reunification) fall under the authority of different
directorates-general at the European Commission, different
committees in the European Parliament, and different ministries at the
national levelwith the usual barriers thus created to developing a
coordinated strategy. Third, views differ across Europe on the goal of
integration and appropriate strategies to achieve it. In practice,
however, no member state is pursuing any of these positions to its
extreme. Their own models are not immutable, and are evolving
towards greater convergence. The European Commission, in its recent
communication on integration, set out comprehensive measures which,
if implemented, would make a significant contribution to the economic,

social, cultural, and political integration of migrants across the

European Union.

European Union
The European Union is a politico-economic union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. The EU
operates through a system of supranational institutions and intergovernmental-negotiated decisions by the member
states.Wikipedia
Founded: November 1, 1993, Maastricht, Netherlands
Customer service: 00 32 2 299 96 96
Unemployment rate: 9.6% (Apr 2015) Eurostat
Government debt: 87.4% of GDP (2013) Eurostat
Internet tld: eu
Founders: France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, Netherlands, Germany
Awards: Nobel Peace Prize

Significance of the European Union

The European Union has brought peace and stability to Europe. In 2012, the Union was
even awarded the Noble Peace Prize.
Joining the European Union has given Finland and other member states a number of new
rights. These rights have also meant new obligations. Cooperation across Europe has also
created many new opportunities.
Every citizen of Finland is at the same time a citizen of the European Union.

As a Union citizen, you enjoy four important rights:

1.

You can travel freely and stay in any EU member state. You can find work in
another EU member state. You can travel to most EU member states without any
border checks, including Norway, Iceland and Switzerland. This area where travel is
free is known as theSchengen Area.
2. You can vote in the European Parliament elections in the member state in which
you live permanently. You can stand for as a candidate and represent your country in
the European Parliament. The same applies to municipal elections. You can vote and
stand as a candidate in municipal elections in the member state in which you live
permanently.
3. If you travel outside Europe and need help, the Finnish foreign mission will
assist you. If there is no Finnish mission in the country where you are staying, you
can turn to the foreign mission of another EU member state for help.
4. If you have been treated unfairly by any EU official, you can appeal to or ask for
help from the European Ombudsman.
No duties are paid on trade between EU member states. Exporting and importing goods is
simple. Companies find it easy to operate and do business in Europe.
The police cooperate throughout Europe, which makes it easier to investigate crimes.
Educational institutions work together. Students may go to another EU member state to
study. School diplomas and employment certificates are accepted in all EU member
states. People may work abroad without losing social security.
Common rules bring wealth and stability to Europe. Efforts are made to improve living
conditions and cure social ills
This thesis analyses the link that the establishment of European citizenship creates between citizenship, nationality, and
immigration policies. To be a European citizen, one needs to be a national of a member state. According to this criterion,
nationality and citizenship are bound to each other. There is no possibility of access for those who do not have the status of
national citizenship. European citizenship legitimised a privileged position to which not all individuals are entitled, and
conditions of access are under the jurisdiction of each member state. It is argued that normatively European citizenship
reinforces the ideology of nationality while empirically it has been used to forge a sort of European identity. In other words,
the underlying argument is that European citizenship functions to define European identity and nationality functions towards
the establishment of national immigration policies. This process leads to the formation of a binary typology of 'us and them',
strengthened by legislation and political debates. The formation of the category of 'us' as Europeans does not find a
response at the empirical level as the public does not fully identify with the Euro-polity. What emerges instead is that the

public regards 'compatibility' between a European and national identity as more optimal. The principal benefit of Eurocitizenship is to re-prioritise the means of citizenship from political rights to social and economic rights. This 'opportunity
structure', nevertheless, remains in a void as long as Community membership relies on the condition of nationality. The
thesis proposes the introduction of a 'legal subjectivity' based on the redefinition of the concept of legality detached from
nationality and grounded in the active exercise of civil, political, and social rights. Such a redefinition is necessary to
sidestep the difficulties entailed in any attempt to separate citizenship from nationality in theory and practice. This would
deprive citizenship of its regulative functions in terms of inclusion and exclusion, and it would reduce the importance
attached to the inherent link between citizenship and nationality.

PROBLEM OF THE STUDY

The European Union faces major social problems. More than
six million jobs were lost from 2008-13 and poverty has
increased. Fiscal consolidation has generally attempted to
spare social protection from spending cuts, but the distribution
of adjustment costs between the young and old has been
uneven; a growing generational divide is evident,
disadvantaging the young. The European Union faces major social
problems. More than six million jobs were lost from 2008-13 and poverty has
increased. Fiscal consolidation has generally attempted to spare social
protection from spending cuts, but the distribution of adjustment costs
between the young and old has been uneven; a growing generational divide is
evident, disadvantaging the young. The efficiency of the social security
systems of EU countries varies widely. Countries with greater inequality
tended to have higher household borrowing prior to the crisis resulting in
more subdued consumption growth during the crisis. The resulting high
private debt, high unemployment, poverty and more limited access to
education undermine long-term growth and social and political stability.
Policymakers face three main challenges. First, addressing unemployment and
poverty should remain a high priority not only for its own sake, but because
these problems undermine public debt sustainability and growth. Second,
bold policies in various areas are required. Most labour, social and fiscal
policies are the responsibility of member states, requiring national reforms.
But better coordination of demand management at European level is also
necessary in order to create jobs. Third, tax/benefit systems should be

reviewed for improved efficiency, inter- generational equity and fair burden
sharing between the wealthy and poor.

LITRETURE (BOOKS)
The European Union Explained: Institutions, Actors, Global ImpactBy
Andreas StaabIndiana U

Reforming the European Union: Realizing the ImpossibleBy Daniel Finke;

Thomas Knig; S The

European Union and the PeopleBy Mette JollyOxford University Press, 2007

Read preview Overview

The European Union: A Polity of States and PeoplesBy Walter Van GervenStanford University
Press, 2005

Read preview Overview

The Idea of a European Superstate: Public Justification and European

IntegrationBy Glyn MorganPrinceton University Press, 2007
Read preview Overview

The Deepening Crisis: Governance Challenges after Neoliberalism By Craig Calhoun;

Georgi DerluguianNew York University Press, 2011

Librarians tip: Chap. 6 "A Less Close Union? The European Unions Search for Unity amid Crisis"

Read preview Overview

The Myth of Europe: The Euro Crisis Isn't Really about Money. It's about the
Fiction That Europeans Ever Existed at AllBy Harding, GarethForeign Policy, No. 191, JanuaryFebruary 2012

Read preview Overview

Europe's Autumn? Popular Sovereignty and Economic Crisis in the European

UnionBy Sala, Vincent DellaSeton Hall Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations, Vol. 13, No. 1, Winter 2012
Read preview Overview

Contesting the European Union? Why the Dutch and the French Rejected the
European ConstitutionBy Hobolt, Sara Binzer; Brouard, SylvainPolitical Research Quarterly, Vol. 64, No. 2,
June 2011
PEER-REVIEWED PERIODICAL
Peer-reviewed publications on Questia are publications containing articles which were subject to evaluation for accuracy and substance by
professional peers of the article's author(s).

Read preview Overview

The United Kingdom and the European Union: A Struggle over Democracy1By
Strafford, JohnThe Journal of Social, Political, and Economic Studies, Vol. 34, No. 4, Winter 2009
PEER-REVIEWED PERIODICAL
Peer-reviewed publications on Questia are publications containing articles which were subject to evaluation for accuracy and substance by
professional peers of the article's author(s).

Read preview Overview

Widening the European Union: The Politics of Institutional Change and ReformBy
Bernard SteunenbergRoutledge, 2002

Read preview Overview

Europe Unites: The Eu's Eastern EnlargementBy Peter A. PoolePraeger, 2003

Read preview Overview

Rethinking European Union Foreign PolicyBy Ben Tonra; Thomas ChristiansenManchester

University Press, 2004

Read preview Overview

DEVELOPMENT
Over half of all development aid comes from the EU and its members, making them
collectively the world's largest aid donor. Most aid goes to low-income and least developed
countries.

How much does the EU spend on development?

In 2013, the EU spent 56.2 bn on development aid aid from EU funds combined with aid
from EU countries' national budgets.
That amounts to 0.43% of EU gross national income (GNI). EU countries have committed
themselves to reaching the target of 0.7% of GNI by 2015.

Eradicating poverty in the new millennium

EU development policy aims above all to eradicate poverty through a sustainable approach.
Key to this are the UN's 8 Millennium Development Goals They range from
halving extreme poverty and halting the spread of HIV/AIDS to providing universal primary
education.
While the number of people living in absolute poverty has fallen by 600 million since 1990,
less progress has been made towards the other goals, particularly reducing deaths of
mothers and babies during childbirth and providing clean drinking water. The EU has
pledged an additional 1 bn to be used in 79 African, Caribbean and Pacific countries in
pursuing the goals on which least progress has been made.

Promoting development in 2015

The EU has designated 2015 European Year for Development. This is a one-year
campaign to show where EU development aid goes and how it helps fight poverty. It also
aims to explain how tackling poverty around the world helps us all and to inspire more
Europeans to get involved in development work.

After 2015
The current set of MDGs will expire and be replaced by a new framework in 2015. In June
2014, the European Commission issued a policy paper called 'A Decent Life for All: From
Vision to Collective Action'. This sets out the EU's post-2015 agenda for eradicating
poverty and promoting sustainable development, including the need for a new global
partnership.

Helping countries & people pull themselves out of poverty

Over the years, the EU has supported many countries in their efforts to eradicate poverty
and create a better future for their people. This is often a long-term process.
Timor-Leste creating a healthy environment for country children
One of rural Timor-Leste's main development challenges is the lack of access to safe water
and sanitation. Many children under five die from preventable water-borne infections that
result in diarrhoea and from acute respiratory diseases.
An EU project aims to give over 5,000 households access to safe drinking water. Activities
involving local communities and schools are already underway. Families have been
encouraged to build latrines, thus expanding toilet access from 35% to 65%.
Read the story of Ludivina, one of the children whose lives have changed for the better
thanks to this project.

Giving people control over their own future

EU development policy aims to give disadvantaged people in developing countries control
over their own development. That means:

addressing the causes of vulnerability, e.g. poor access to food, clean water,
education, health, employment, land, social services, infrastructure and a healthy
environment

eradicating disease and providing access to cheap medicines to fight epidemics like
HIV/AIDS

reducing developing countries' debt burden, so they have more money for vital public
investments, instead of paying interest to rich lenders in industrialised countries

promoting self-help and poverty-eradication strategies

supporting the democratic process

improving respect for human rights, including equality between the sexes

encouraging a more stable economic environment in which businesses can grow and
create jobs.

Examples from Africa

Working to prevent female genital mutilation
Millions of girls and women all over the world are still at risk of female genital mutilation,
particularly in developing countries. However, progress is being made. Thanks to an EU
project with UNICEF in Senegal, for instance, over 5,300 communities have abandoned the
practice in just under a decade. The national action plan to eradicate female genital
mutilation by the end of 2015 brings Senegal close to becoming the world's first
country to declare total abandonment of this practice.
This project is part of an initiative that has helped save thousands of girls from such
mutilation in Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Senegal and Sudan.

European Union Negotiations: Processes, Networks and InstitutionsBy Ole Elgstrm;

Christer JnssonRoutledge, 2005

Read preview Overview

The Welfare State in the European Union: Economic and Social PerspectivesBy
Pierre PestieauOxford University Press, 2006

Read preview Overview

Cross-Border Governance in the European UnionBy Olivier Kramsch; Barbara

HooperRoutledge, 2004
ven-Oliver Proksch; George TsebelisPrinceton University Press, 2012 niversity Press, 2013 (3rd edition)