Integration of Immigrants in an Integrating Europe

Abstract

This paper will firstly focus on the question of why the issue of immigrantintegration, which has been ignored as a distinct policy area that needs considerationat the European Union level until very recently, gained EU-level attention. Afterwards,the balance of power between the basic actors involved in the policy making of the EU,namely, the European Council, Council of Ministers, the European Commission, andthe European Parliament, and how this balance affects the progress of developingcommon policies in the domain of immigrant integration will be analyzed. In the thirdpart, the effect of the failure of the European Constitution's full ratification on thedevelopment of EU level integration policies and on the respective weights of theinstitutions will be covered. Lastly, recommendations for the development of moreeffective EU policies in terms of immigrant integration and for the greater involvementof the supranational bodies will be made.

Keywords

• european union
• immigration
• immigrant integration
• policy-making
• european union
• immigration
• immigrant integration