LODE DRAELANTS, INTERNATIONAL COMITE

GEERT ROUKAERTS, REGIONAL INTEGRATION CENTER FOYER

EMILY SCHMIDT, CDS INTERNATIONAL

Immigrant Integration in Europe: Meeting

Today's Pressing Challenges

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 overviewPolitical structures Paths to citizenshipBelgian integration snapshotGerman integration snapshotEuropean integration initiativesResources

Map of Europe

Key Statistics

United States Belgium Germany

Size 9.8 million km2

9th largest worldwide

30,000 km2

147th largest worldwide

357,000 km2

69th largest worldwide

Population 307 million 10 million 82 million

Growth Rate .975% 0.094% -0.053%

Median Household Income

$50,740

College Diploma Holders

39% 33% 25%

Religion 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

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)

Significant sending countries

18% from Mexico

5% from China4% from

Philippines4% from India

63% from EU countries13% from Morocco

8% from Turkey

26% from Turkey

Undocumented 32% 10%

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 centuryEurope: 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 stop1983 – 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 immigrationRegularizationPost 9/11 – role of Islam in EuropeTurkey’s acceptance into European UnionGaps in educational attainment

German Immigration Policy

Guest worker policy – 1955 to 19731945 – present – Aussiedler (ethnic German)

immigration from eastern Europe and then RussiaTemporary asylum program for Bosnia-

Herzegovina1988 – present – new guest worker program1993 –tightening of asylum laws2000 – Skilled worker program introduced2005 reform

Green Card program for skilled workers and entrepreneurs One-year optional practical training for students

Citizenship in Germany

New law effective January 1, 2000Conditions 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-

year-olds born and raised in Belgium 2000 – Citizenship granted to 3rd generation

descendantsKey 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 languagesEuropean vision requires multilingualismDifficult to embrace a large number of foreign

languages

Education

Different socialization mandates for schoolsTracking systemsPresence of minority teachersExpectations 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 CouncilIn 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 co-ordination 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

practitionersEuropean Fund for the Integration of third-country

nationalsEuropean 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

Political group Number of seats Score in %

EPP 264 35.9

PES 161 21.9

ALDE 80 10.9

GREENS/EFA 53 7.2

UEN 35 4.8

GUE/NGL 32 4.3

IND/DEM 18 2.4

Others 93 12.6

Legend:EPP : Group of the European People's Party (Christian Democrats) PES : Socialist Group in the European ParliamentALDE : Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for EuropeUEN : Union for Europe of the Nations GroupGREENS/ EFA : Group of the Greens / European Free AllianceGUE/ NGL : Confederal Group of the European United Left - Nordic Green LeftIND/ DEM : Independence/Democracy GroupOthers : Popular, Extreme right

Without prejudice to the composition of the EP at the inaugural session on 14 July 2009Source: TNS opinion in collaboration with the EP.

European election June 2009338 million Europeans - 27 countries - turnout : 43% in 2009 – seats: 736

http://www.elections2009-results.eu/

Election year

Men (%)

Women (%)

1979 84 16

1984 82 18

1989 81 19

1994 74 26

1999 70 30

2004 69 31

2009 ? ?