Securing European Integration

Multitudes relocate to Europe every year to escape political oppression, pursue economic opportunity and flee war zones. But integrating many of these immigrants and refugees into Europe has been difficult, and Europeans express concern that uncontrolled migration could threaten their culture. This mood was reflected in recent speeches by former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, all of whom announced the failure of multiculturalism in their countries. Immigration has helped Europe in the past, and experts say it is needed again to supplement the continent’s aging workforce. But the European Union is struggling to find the right policy that balances the economic needs of the EU without creating parallel societies of culturally autonomous immigrants. The EU is developing a common migration policy that strives to provide a foundation for admitting immigrants. Work permits – including “Blue Cards” for vital foreignborn workers – are to be streamlined. Long-term residents of Europe would benefit from more lenient family reunification policies to allow them to take root in their new countries. Increasingly, the EU is stressing the need for language training and the enforcement of anti-discrimination policies. “Successful integration of migrants into the host society is essential to maximize the opportunities afforded by legal migration and to realize the potential that immigration has for EU development,” the European Union’s website announced in reference to the creation of a new immigration policy.