23-03-2007

“Europe has changed dramatically since the signing of the Treaty of Rome, not least due to large-scale migration,” said Demetrios G. Papademetriou, Task Force co-convener and president of the Migration Policy Institute, the leading global think tank on migration. He continued, “Our aim is to assess and respond to the profound challenges of integrating immigrants and building stronger communities on both sides of the Atlantic for the next 50 years.”

“We need a coherent strategy to address the challenge of integration and, thereby, contribute to the sustainability of the E.U.,” declared Werner Weidenfeld, Task Force co-convener and member of the Executive Board of the German Bertelsmann Stiftung, one of the leading European foundations.

The Task Force is composed of the following senior figures:

In its initial stages, the Task Force is focusing on the political and civic participation of immigrants; intercultural dialogue, particularly with Muslim communities; and education. It will address its recommendations to European Union institutions and Member State governments, the governments of the United States and Canada, and state and local governments and civil society everywhere.