Using EU Indicators of Immigrant Integration
This report, which was prepared at the request of the European Commission by the European Services Network (ESN) and the Migration Policy Group (MPG) focuses on the further development and use of EU immigrant integration indicators.
Background
The report is based on research undertaken by an ad hoc research team lead by MPG including scholars from the Free University of Brussels (ULB) and the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) in Vienna.
The initial research results were presented in discussions papers which were first discussed by the European Commission and the National Contact Points on Integration (NCPIs) and subsequently by around 300 governmental and non-governmental integration actors and academics from all 27 Member States and Norway attending three expert seminars that were organised in the course of 2012.
Some findings
- There are 3 key policy purposes for using integration indicators: understanding integration contexts and immigrants’ integration outcomes, evaluating the results of policies, and mainstreaming integration into general policies. These purposes are not one in the same
- Integration outcomes in different countries are often related to the same key aspects of the immigrant population, the general context, and national policies. Countries are different but these differences are often due to the same types of factors, which are more present in some countries than in others. Descriptive analyses can enhance the understanding of national and local situations.
- The Zaragoza indicators are relevant for the integration of immigrants and consequently for policy-making at various levels of governance. Issues of long-term residence and naturalisation are important integration matters and can be captured by indicators.
- A more structured and regular integration monitoring at EU level can see the best results by building on existing national and European data collection mechanisms. Several improvements regarding data availability and reliability are being discussed and taken forward by Eurostat and national statistical institutes.
The report further reflects on the different ways in which indicators could be used to understand national contexts, evaluate the outcomes of policies and create targets to improve integration.
More details in the publication.