As France’s new DNA-testing measures continue to inspire discussion on immigration and the issues surrounding it, the Migration Integration Index compares EU countries on how they treat their immigrants …
A report called the Migration Integration Policy Index (MIPEX) has compared 25 EU countries and additionally Norway, Switzerland and Canada to evaluate how countries are helping their immigrants to integrate into their new land. Funded in part by the European Commission, and led by the British Council and the Migration Policy Group in Brussels, the study looked at six areas: labor market access, family reunion, long-term residence, political participation, access to nationality, and laws combating racism and discrimination.
Sweden came out on top, the only country to score high enough to be considered “favorable” for promoting integration. Sweden’s foreign workers are able to move freely from job to job after just one year, and those who lose work are provided with Swedish classes and vocational training. It is also easy to bring your family in after you – and once settled everyone can vote. Other high scorers were Portugal, Belgium and the Netherlands. Countries with the largest immigrant populations, such as the UK, Spain, Germany, Italy and France all ranked in the top half, with Italy coming out best. At the bottom of the list for its treatment of immigrants was Latvia, with Cyprus, Greece and Austria close behind.
The countries diverged greatly on the kind of electoral rights they granted non-EU residents, with 11 countries not granting any at all. The 20 million immigrants living in the EU were also nearly three times more likely to be unemployed than their EU national counterparts, as some EU countries don’t recognize the migrant’s skills and qualifications achieved in their home country. Wide variations also exist concerning how long residents must wait to be eligible for citizenship and which family member immigrants can bring with them. Next week, Justice Comissioner, Franco Frattini, is set to propose an EU “blue card” to facilitate migrant access to the labor market. If EU countries accept his proposal, skilled workers will be able to apply for a two-year stay, with the possibility of extension. After five years, migrants will be entitled to stay permanently in Europe.
This article was published Tuesday, October 23, 2007.
