EUKN - European Urban Knowledge Network - Immigration and integration in the European Union

Immigration and integration in the European Union

Introduction

The EU member states are faced with the problem of steering immigration and integration in the right direction.

Description

The EU member states are faced with important challenges. Over time, the ageing of the European population and continuing globalisation can lead to a further increase in immigration. At the same time, unemployment among immigrants is higher than among natives. All member states are faced with the problem of steering immigration and integration in the right direction.

Conclusions

Many employees are afraid that immigrants will take their places in the job market. Most empirical studies, however, show no significant effects of immigration on wages or unemployment in the recipient country.
In member states where the participation of immigrants is high, they contribute towards social facilities and the finances of the government.
The degree of participation of immigrants in the work process is on average lower than that of the indigenous populations in the EU.
Migrants are on average more often unemployed.
Broad social facilities in the destination country forms an important explanation for the deprivation of immigrants on the European labour market. Unemployment among immigrants is relatively high in member states with broader social facilities.
High unemployment can on the one hand be caused by the attractive effect of a generous welfare state. An alternative explanation is that the social security system ensures that immigrants who become unemployed have little motivation to return to work.
In order to arrive at a common European policy, sole authority should be ceded to the EU if there are well-founded indications that this would provide advantages over a national approach.

Contact info

Social and Cultural Planning Bureau of the Netherlands
Phone: +31 70 3407000
info@scp.nl

Publication date

21/09/2004

Researcher

S. Ederveen et al.

Links

Social and Cultural Planning Bureau of the Netherlands

European Exploration 2. Destination Europe (PDF, Dutch, 517KB)

Document type

research

Themes

Urban Policy > Social inclusion & integration > Quality of life

Keywords

Social services