EUKN - European Urban Knowledge Network - Second Handbook on Integration

Second Handbook on Integration

Introduction

The Second Handbook on Integration contains good practices and ‘lessons learned’ drawn from the experience of policy-makers and practitioners across Europe. It deals with issues such as the mainstreaming of integration policies throughout the European territory, governance, housing and economic integration. The focus of the handbook is for a large part ‘urban’, since city governments are closest to the citizens and best placed to provide faster and more effective policy responses. The second edition of the handbook provides a wealth of information on integration policies, on the local, national and European level. The handbook is prepared by the Migration Policy Group (MPG) for the European Commission, in close cooperation with the National Contact Points on Integration.

Description

The handbook deals in particular with four issues:

mainstreaming immigrant integration
housing in an urban environment
economic integration
integration governance

The first chapter deals with the mainstreaming of immigrant integration policies. It observes how immigrant integration is becoming an integral part of policymaking and implementation, service delivery and organisational culture across a wide range of fields.

Chapter two describes practices that aim to broaden the housing choices of immigrants by lowering barriers to access and improving housing quality. While such measures are mostly small-scale and targeted, they are implemented against the backdrop of broader urban policies and structures.

The third chapter discusses immigrants’ economic integration, encompassing both employment and self-employment. It looks first at admission policy in relation to supply and demand on the labour market. It deals with the assessment and acquisition of skills throughout the labour market career of immigrants, and discusses ways of supporting ethnic entrepreneurship.

The final chapter takes stock of governance issues - in particular structures, mechanisms, processes and forms of collaboration that make up the framework for integration policies and practices.

The handbook concludes with a number of useful recommendations on how to translate successful practices into successful integration policies.

Background information

The second edition of the Handbook on Integration provides input to a core element of the European framework on integration, namely the implementation of the Common Basic Principles (CBPs). The CBPs assist Member States in formulating integration policies and serve as a reference for the implementation and evaluation of current and future integration policies. The eleven CBPs are further developed in the Commission Communication on ‘A Common Agenda for Integration’, which proposes concrete measures to put the principles into practice.

Methodology

The handbook is prepared by the Migration Policy Group (MPG) as an independent consultant to the European Commission, in close cooperation with the National Contact Points on Integration and on the basis of the outcomes of technical seminars hosted by ministries responsible for integration in different Member States.

The seminar participants can be considered the ‘authors’ of the handbook, since the knowledge and examples presented in the chapters are largely based on their (written and oral) presentations and discussions. The European Commission, the National Contact Points on Integration and MPG can be seen as ‘editors’, preparing a conceptual framework for the seminars, taking stock of the information gathered at each seminar, selecting practices, and supplementing them with additional research.

Conclusions

The handbook comes up with a set of conclusions for each of the four addressed themes:

One of the main conclusions on mainstreaming is that policy-makers, service providers and non-governmental organisations active in a wide range of fields need to look critically at their own activities. Immigrant integration is not a ‘luxury’ but simply an element of an institution’s mandate when its clients, members or stakeholders are becoming increasingly diverse.
In the field of (urban) housing, policies should seek to broaden their choices by ensuring equal opportunities in the housing market.
When considering economic integration, one should start at the beginning: Rules concerning admission can be seen as integration starting points which set crucially important conditions for the integration process.
In the governance field, the handbook calls for strong local leadership: Strong and visible leadership of mayors and/or elected local officials on integration issues is instrumental to a coherent approach to integration across multiple policy areas and helps to bridge gaps between government and residents with or without an immigrant background.

Contact info

Migration Policy Group
Mr Jan Niessen (Director), tel. +32 2 230 5930

Publication date

15/05/2007

Links

Read the EUKN interview on the Handbook with Mr Niessen Visit the Migration Policy Group website Visit the DG Justice website

Download the Second Handbook on Integration (PDF, Eng, 1.2 MB)

Download ‘A Common Agenda for Integration’ (PDF, Eng, 205 KB)

Document type

research

Themes

Urban Policy > Social inclusion & integration > Integration of social groups

Keywords

Ethnic minorities