European Web Site on Integration - Newsletter no.42 - February 2013

WELCOME! This is the 42nd issue of the European Web Site on Integration's monthly newsletter. Every first Wednesday of the month, the editorial team of the European Web Site on Integration sends you a selection of content recently published on the Site.

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On 1 January 2009, 31.9 million foreign citizens lived in the EU27 Member States, of which 11.9 million were citizens of another EU27 Member State. The remaining were citizens of countries outside the EU27, in particular from other European countries (7.2 million), Africa (4.9 million), Asia (4.0 million) and the American continent (3.3 million). Foreign citizens accounted for 6.4% of the total EU…

In an interview with a leading Turkish newspaper, German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday described anti-immigrant statements made by central bank board member Thilo Sarrazin as "absurd" and said that "groups in our society feel injured." A chorus of politicians in Germany are calling for a national debate on integration. Read More... Source: Spiegel Online

The German government announced plans on Monday for legislation to promote the integration of immigrants into mainstream society, following Chancellor Angela Merkel's assertion on Saturday that multiculturalism had "utterly failed." Merkel's center-right coalition cabinet planned to adopt "concrete" new regulations next Wednesday on immigration policy and residency permits. The legislation would …

An annual survey of Spain's Muslim community suggests that some 70 percent of Muslims say they feel at home in the country, and 80 percent say they feel they have adapted well to the Spanish way of life. Islam is now the second largest religious domination, with a range of liberal, progressive branches represented, from the Moroccan Maliki school of thought to the Tarikat Sufi order from West Afr…

Three of four Swedes consider issues which address integration and immigration to be a contemporary Swedish problem, with four in ten sceptical of the experts on the issue, a new survey published on Tuesday shows. "Xenophobia and democracy issues have come into focus with the Sweden Democrats' (SD) entry into Sweden's Riksdag," wrote Camilla Modéer, secretary-general of Public & Scienc…

The call for proposals for operating grants is open in the framework of the Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Annual Work Programme 2010. The call for proposals is aimed at supporting organisations - such as non-profit organisations, voluntary associations, foundations, NGOs or similar bodies, active in the field of Fundamental Rights and Citizenship for their activities in their financial year …

A Ghana-born doctor nicknamed "the Obama of Piran" became the first black mayor in eastern Europe yesterday after he was elected in Piran, south-western Slovenia. Peter Bossman, 54, said he was "happy and proud" to have been elected to the post after winning a second round runoff in the town with just over half the votes. Bossman settled in Slovenia, then still part of Yugoslavia, in the 1970s a…

Today the Commission adopted a 'European Agenda for the Integration of Third-Country Nationals' to enhance the economic, social and cultural benefits of migration in Europe. The Agenda puts the emphasis on migrants' full participation in all aspects of collective life and highlights the key role of local authorities. Cecilia Malmström, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, said: "Succe…

EU Institutions must be extremely active in the fight against xenophobia and discrimination towards visible minorities. Intolerance, xenophobia and racism are on the rise throughout Europe, including within the political agendas of certain governments, argues the opinion adopted by the EESC plenary on 13 July 2011. The opinion presented by Mr Pariza Castaños supplements a 2006 EESC opinion…

A law banning the burqa, the veil that entirely covers a woman's face except for the eyes, will become effective in Belgium as of 23 July, after it was published in the country's official journal. Failure to comply with the law is punishable by up to seven days of imprisonment and a fine of 137,50 euro. According to estimates, some 270 women in Belgium wear the burqua. Belgium is the second EU c…

Experts in favour of encouraging equality education and educating the Police in order to increase harmonious coexistence. Since the advent of the crisis, the xenophobic discourse has been gaining ground among some municipal councillors who propose policies that limit the rights of immigrants. The statements on Sunday by the mayor of Salt (Girona, 30,304 inhabitants) Jaume Torramadé of CIU …

"Germany is discussing its shortage of skilled professionals, and it hopes to solve the problem by attracting doctors and engineers from abroad. The government acts as if it can just stand there and start calling out for qualified workers from the around the world. But why should they come to Germany?" In this opinion article, Hasnain Kazim (son of Indian and Pakistani parents, born and raised in…

The Expert Council has developed 20 specific proposals in seven thematic areas, whose implementation is recommended in the coming years. German is an important requirement for successful integration. In order to improve access to the labour market for migrants, the recognition of foreign vocational and school education and increasing employment of female migrants are sought. The promotion of healt…

The European Fund for the Integration of Third-Country Nationals and the Ministry of Culture are putting up 240,910 euros, which MISA will distribute to the best projects for administering language and Citizenship Act courses. The Integratsion and Migration Foundation Our People (MISA) has announced a call for projects designed to address a situation where only 15 percent of Russian speake…

The general objective of the call for proposals is to support the integration of third country nationals in Estonian society. The call aims at increasing Estonian media consumption and awareness of things happening in Estonian society among third country nationals and to increase citizen participation. Funding can be requested by corporate bodies registered in Estonia whose activities include ac…

  Three Member States are still making it too difficult for highly skilled people to come and work in the EU, prompting the Commission to act. Despite having been warned in July 2011, Austria, Cyprus and Greece have not yet transposed the rules of the Blue Card Directive, which should have been implemented before 19 June 2011. This is why the European Commission today issued reasoned opinion…

  The purpose of this contract is to provide assistance to the Commission to ensure, in cooperation with Member States and in respect of the rules of the shared management, the correct implementation of the Funds pursuant to the Basic Acts and the Implementing Rules.   This is to be achieved by means of outsourced support to the monitoring activities undertaken by the Commission servi…

Le gouvernement wallon a approuvé lundi le projet de décret relatif au parcours d’intégration des primo-arrivants souhaitant s’installer durablement en Wallonie. Ce parcours concernera toute personne étrangère séjournant en Belgique depuis moins de trois ans et disposant d’un titre de séjour de plus de trois mois, à l…

By December 2012 the 'European Year of Active Ageing' will be ending. On this occasion the New Austrian Media-Service Centre (MSNÖ) had a look at the situation of pensioners with a migration background. About 19 per cent of Austrian citizens are pensioners. 5.9 per cent of foreigners are over 65. Only 17 per cent want to return to their country of origin. The majority of older migrants feel a…

The progress achieved during the Cyprus Presidency of the Council of the EU in the areas of immigration and asylum, the European Border Surveillance System, the fight against human trafficking and the European Year of Citizens 2013 are some of the issues presented by Cyprus' Minister of Interior Ms Eleni Mavrou at the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee (LIBE). Read m…

"Migration is part of our past, present and future. It has always been, and always will be a part of what makes Europe, and if looked upon as an opportunity rather than a threat, migration can help us grow stronger – economically, culturally and morally. I believe we must see immigration as an asset giving an individual the opportunity to improve their life, whilst allowing European countri…

The Ministry of the Interior is preparing a new migration strategy. The work began in early 2012 in line with the Government Programme. The Future of Migration 2020 Strategy aims to anticipate immigration to Finland and its impact on Finnish society. As outlined in the Government Programme, the Strategy will be drawn up with the aim of enhancing economic growth, employment and competitiveness. Th…

In order to become more attractive to migrants, the German Christian Democratic Party (CDU) is increasing the number of migrant politicians in leading positions. The party convention in Hanover voted for Aygül Özkan (Minister for Social Affairs in Lower-Saxony), Serap Güler (an MP from Northrhine-Westphalia) and Younes Ouaqasse (former head of the school pupils Christian Democratic …

Le Service général de la Jeunesse et de l’Éducation Permanente lance un nouvel appel à projets destiné aux associations de migrants.La difficulté d’accès des associations de migrants aux subventions est un constat récurrent malgré les priorités qui sont définies pour ce type de public.Très souvent, …

Call for proposals of the Government Office of the Slovak Republic for 2013 related to a culture of national minorities in Slovakia. The main aim of the grant is preservation, expression, protection, development of the identity and culture values of national minorities, education towards rights of minorities, interethnical and intercultural dialogue in between minorities and majority. The progra…

All documents pertaining to the call can be downloaded here. The call is subject to the adoption of the 2013 grants budget included in 2013 EIF CA Work Programme.

The Department of Social Welfare of the Valencian Community will grant financial aid to private non-profit organizations for the implementation of projects aimed at the social integration of immigrants in the 2013 financial year.The deadline for the submission of applications is one month from the publication (19th of January 2013) of this call in the Official Gazette of the Community of Valencia.…

At the beginning of this year, the development of the new integration strategy for Estonia got underway. For the preparation of the new development plan 'Lõimuv Eesti 2020' ('Integrating Estonia 2020'), a total of 15 thematic working groups will gather in the coming weeks for the discussion of various topics related with the new integration strategy. Also expert groups and the leading co…

In January 2013 in the Warsaw City Hall, the Team for coordination of activities addressed at foreigners, national minorities and ethnic minorities was established. The aim of the Team is to integrate and coordinate activities of the Warsaw City Hall in the following areas: intercultural education, rights of foreign children to equal access to education, promoting intercultural dialogue, popularis…

The Hellenic League for Human Rights presented its awareness-rising campaign for the right of immigrants’ children living in Greece to be entitled to Greek citizenship. (Read more...)

Une enquête Ipsos relayée par Le Monde, jeudi 24 janvier, dresse un portrait sombre de la France. Selon ce sondage réalisé avec le Centre d'études politiques de Sciences Po (Cevipof) intitulée "France 2013 : les nouvelles fractures", les Français redoutent la mondialisation, la place que prend l'Europe, ne font pas confiance à leurs hommes pol…

Systematic comparison of citizenship across a large number of countries requires condensing qualitative information into indicators that can be used for quantitative analysis. The wealth of data collected by EUDO CITIZENSHIP allows a much more fine-grained analysis of legal provisions, administrative procedures, statistical developments and integration effects of citizenship acquisition than …

The objective of Project CATT (Cultural Awareness for Teachers & Trainers working with migrants) is to improve the integration and quality of life of migrants by developing teacher and trainer skills. The founder members of the project team are: JAMES TWISS United Kingdom, CECILE FOGLIENI France, MARTIN WAGNER Germany and ALFONSO PIÑERO Spain. During the two years of the project, the te…

Cette action a pour origine une réflexion sur l'utilisation de la mémoire des aînés dans les processus éducatifs et les travaux intergénérationnels déjà menés par Frédéric Praud (écrivain public biographe) au sein des établissements scolaires et des collectivités locales. Son souci est de rendre…

*peppa was created to provide a place for girls and young women aged from 10 to 20 years. *peppa has adopted a centre-based approach to youth work and offers dedicated premises for recreational and educational activities with the aim of participation, emancipation and empowerment of girls and young women.

The project integration package for unemployed migrants, refugees and asylum seekers stems from an ongoing effort to assist primarily labour migrants in terms of informing them about legal changes and possibilities related to labour market access and general integration. While initially focusing on unemployed migrant workers, asylum seekers, and refugees, the project also aims to include the migra…

The project aims to establish an intercultural orientation and intercultural openness of institutions active in the field of social work, education and health sector. The project is financed by the department for intercultural affairs and carried out jointly with social/ third sector organizations. There has been a first phase of the project prior to 2008 and a second round in 2008 – 2010.

The purpose of the project was to contribute to the development of the capacity of the TCNs to access the rights provided by national legislation in order to successfully go through the integration process in Romania. Through the information provided in the guide, the authors aimed to combat social marginalisation and discrimination at the work place, to increase mobility and indicate methods to a…

The project aims at facilitation of integration process of foreign pupils with the school community. The project takes place in schools attended by children from nearby refugee centres. Cultural assistant, a Chechen who knows Polish language and culture, acts as an interpreter and intercultural mediator between Polish and foreign pupils, between pupils and teachers, as well as between teachers and…

The primary aim of our project is to thoroughly inform the young generations in Hungary about the African immigrants living in the country, therefore, encouraging the openness and stereotype-free thinking of society at large. As this group will be affected by the phenomenon the most, we communicate with students of high schools, colleges and universities also. As part of the project, we have publi…

A business incubator has been established at the Bulgarian Red Cross (BRC), accessible to all vunerable groups including Roma, migrants & refugees, elderly people and women with low incomes. The project includes cooperation between private enterprises and public institutions. Private partners train and support student volunteers who consult project beneficiaries how to become self-emplo…

The project is designed especially for Muslim women. It is part of the Berlin Police TiK project (Transfer of intercultural competence), and includes a guided city tour by police officers through the city centre. In addition to historical sites, the women also familiarise themselves with prevention services offered by the Berlin police. The promotion of dialogue between Muslim communities and the …

The practice provided multidisciplinary support to migrants: Latvian language courses and language clubs (including introduction to Latvian culture via films, books, visits to a museum and theatre), translation services, publishing an online informative resource in 4 languages on migrants’ rights and accessible services, online and offline individual social and legal issue consultations, sup…

Based on many years experience in informal education, innovating pedagogical projects and the implication of parents from various national and ethnic backgrounds in ASTI, Re:sources is disseminating good practices in this field in the extra curricular structures of the Grand duchy. All these structures have to deal with multi ethnic pupils. (43% of Luxembourg's population are foreigners.)  &…

Our Lead to Inspire - Empowerment & Leadership project guides newly-arrived migrant woman to become leaders and peer-mentors in the local community and shape change both in themselves and in the world around them.

  'Next Door Family' is an innovative integration project. Its purpose is to bring together Czech families with the families of third-country nationals for a casual lunch in order to encourage (informally) communication and personal friendship ties between native and non-native citizens, and to promote intercultural dialogue.  The project, first launched in the Czech Republic in 2004…

The Citizenship Application Support Service (CASS) is a free information and support service established by NCP in March 2011 in recognition of the need to promote greater understanding of the citizenship application process amongst immigrants.

The project seeks to promote coexistence between migrants and the native population by encouraging a process of social transformation towards multiculturalism being built up from below: from spaces that are unique to both communities and from new areas where both populations can meet together and coexist.From this project, dialogue spaces are promoted to work and actively participate in the constr…

Released as part of the BBC's Hard Times season, which looks at austerity measures across the world, this new report is a follow up to last year's MPI study for BBC World Service, Migration and the Global Recession, which examined the impact of the global recession on migration flows, remittances, employment and poverty rates. The latest report reveals that the toll has been particularly hard for…

This publication is primarily designed for officers at management level in law enforcement agencies. It is intended to improve understanding of the theory and practice of ‘ethnic profiling’ and place it within a legal and social context. It does so by explaining how ‘profiling’ is used in general contexts outside of law enforcement, such as in the area of market research. I…

ENAR has issued the latest edition of its newsletter ENARgy, which focuses on the theme of political participation and representation of ethnic minorities. The newsletter begins by providing an overview of political rights and representation of minorities in a sample of EU member states. It goes on to offer analyses of the challenges for ethnic minorities’ political participation, from glas…

Items debated (p. 8): Intra-corporate transfer and seasonal employment Ministers held a first exchange of views on Commission proposals for two directives on conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals concerning:– intra-corporate transfers (regarding managerial and qualified employees for branches andsubsidiaries of multinational companies) (12211/10), and– seasonal …

Améliorer les connaissances sur les trajectoires sociales et les conditions de vie des migrants et leurs descendants dans la société française paraît nécessaire pour éclairer les débats publics sur l’immigration dans un contexte où des politiques d’égalité et de lutte contre les discriminations liées &ag…

A study on Satisfying Labour Demand through Migration was undertaken by twenty-three of the EMN National Contact Points (EMN NCPs) from Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg Netherlands, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom. In keeping with the EMN’…

Policies developed for the integration of migrant children in schools usually recognise the fluid and multiple aspects of cultural and language identities but less so the dynamic character of gender in relation to the transnational experience of migrants. Having abandoned past assimilation approaches, schools in many European countries now try to build integration policies and develop practices on…

How has the Eurobarometer on Migrant Integration been conducted? During the months of March and April 2011, and at the request of the Commission, TNS Qual+ conducted the first ever Eurobarometer on Migrant Integration. The research employed a qualitative approach involving a number of discussion groups and individual depth interviews. Two group discussions amongst EU citizens were conducted in e…

The publication demonstrates preliminary results from the survey conducted in three Warsaw neighbourhoods: {elazna Brama, Szcz[liwice and Wilanów. The total sample consisted of 696 persons: 233 in {elazna Brama, 242 in Szcz[liwice and 221 in Wilanów. Research was carried out within the project titled "Generating Interethnic Tolerance and Neighbourhood Integration in European Urban Sp…

The European Commission has published the draft European Modules on Migrant Integration. This document presents the three draft modules developed with experts and officials from all over the EU with the help of a service provider. It does not necessarily represent the viewpoint of the Commission. The modules refer to a collection of experience at national level and an identification of joint prac…

  This publication sets out our approach to creating an integrated society. Integration means creating the conditions for everyone to play a full part in national and local life. Our country is stronger by far when each of us, whatever our background, has a chance to contribute. And our communities are stronger when different people not only treat each other with respect, but contribute toge…

Churches are attaching highest importance to marriage and the family, the social conditions enabling family life and the international, European and national legal frameworks connected to the possibility of founding a family and living as a family, as the family is “the natural and fundamental group unit of society” (Art. 16.3 UDHR) . Our organisations actively contributed to the nego…

  The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) today published a new report on Italy. ECRI’s Chair ad interim, François Sant’Angelo, said that, while progress has been made in some areas, there is significant room for improvement in combating hate speech and protecting Roma and migrants from violence and discrimination.   Italy has now an effective …

This report is submitted in response to the Council of Europe call for qualitative research in order to provide in depth and rich case studies of intercultural city interventions and practice - and the positive outcomes for host cities and communities. The key topics highlighted for further investigation were the conception, design and management of urban public space and safety. This qualitative …

This report is submitted in response to the Council of Europe call for qualitative research in order to provide in depth and rich case studies of intercultural city interventions and practice - and the positive outcomes for host cities and communities. The key topics highlighted for further investigation were the conception, design and management of urban public space and safety. This qualitative …

This report looks at access to justice in cases of discrimination in the European Union (EU). The study’s main aim is to provide insight into obstacles people who have been discriminated against face in their attempts to gain access to justice. A further aim is to explore what incentives exist to encourage potential complainants to try to access justice when warranted. The report also highli…

The conclusions of the Equality Summit, held on 22-23 November 2012 in Cyprus, have been published. Key elements are summarised below: The current economic crisis is putting pressure on the finances of all members of the European Union, which often results in austerity measures and cuts in social policies, including Equality. The latest Eurobarometer on discrimination confirms this trend, as a…

DG Employment builds on the first Employment and Social Developments in Europe (ESDE) Review in this second edition, by conducting an analysis of the economic and social situation in the EU. Following a year which has seen several Member States witnessing escalating debt crises, public spending is decreasing. With different parts of the EU seeing different social and employment trends, findin…

An Equinet perspective reflecting on the body of work carried out by equality bodies when dealing with cases of discrimination on the grounds of ethnic or racial origin. The perspective also analyses the law governing this work and the strategic approach to this work. According to the Special Eurobarometer 393 focusing on Discrimination in the EU in 2012, 56% of European citizens think that discr…

In 'Practice to Policy: Lessons from Local Leadership on Immigrant Integration', we look at what successful municipal practices can teach us about the impact of good policy and strong leadership. Four international experts contribute analysis and policy insights on the range of municipal levers available to promote both immigrants and city success. Practice to Policy highlights policy solutions t…

This report marks a significant milestone in the emergence of a new way of working for cities. The Intercultural Cities (ICC) approach has grown from an idea to reach maturity as a proven methodology for enabling cities, to not only survive and cope in the new landscape of global/local diversity, but to navigate their way forward with confidence and to thrive. It explains where ICC came from, how …

This paper sets out 10 broad ‘principles’ for migration policy that we believe would provide the basis for a UK migration policy that is fair, democratic, progressive and effective. We aim to provide some foundations for the new mainstream consensus on migration policy that is so sorely needed in the UK.Our ‘principles’ are not foundational philosophical positions but rathe…

To investigate econometrically whether the cultural diversity of a firm’s employees boosts innovation, we create a unique linked employer-employee dataset that combines data from two innovation surveys in The Netherlands with administrative and tax data. We calculate three distinct measures of diversity. We find that firms that employ fewer foreign workers are generally more innovative, but …