Policies for the integration of immigrants in Council of Europe member states

Such attitudes and political choices seem to overlook the fact that millions of immigrants enjoy legal residence in Council of Europe member states and want to participate fully in the life of the host country and respect its democratic rules and values. It is widely acknowledged that terrorism poses a threat to democracy. Governments and the public opinion should be alerted that the failure to devise and implement effective integration policies for immigrants will pose an equal threat to the values which are at the heart of European society, namely equality and social cohesion.

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Policies for the integration of immigrants in Council of Europe member states

Doc. 9888

24 July 2003

Report

Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography

Rapporteur: Mrs Ans Zwerver, Netherlands, Socialist Group

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I. Draft recommendation

1. Since its very creation, the Parliamentary Assembly has devoted considerable attention to the issue of the integration of immigrants. In this regard, it recalls Recommendation 712 (1973) on integration of migrant workers with the society of their host countries, Resolution 631 (1976) on the integration of migrants into society as regards education and cultural development, Recommendation 1206 (1993) on the integration of migrants and community relations, Recommendation 1500 (2001) on participation of immigrants and foreign residents in political life in the Council of Europe member states, and Recommendation 1596 (2003) on the situation of young migrants in Europe.

2. The Assembly also recalls the importance given to the integration of immigrants in the overall activities of the Council of Europe, namely in the Directorate for Social Cohesion, through the works of the European Committee on Migration (CDMG) and its Committee of Experts on Integration and Community Relations, as well as the numerous activities in the area of the fight against racism and discrimination, in particular the campaign “All different, all equal”.

3. The Assembly regrets that after 11 September the immigration debate has been dominated by security and border control concerns, to the detriment of integration policies, and that a certain rhetoric has developed in the media and the public opinion often stigmatising immigrants.

4. Such attitudes and political choices overlook the fact that millions of immigrants enjoy legal residence in Council of Europe member states and want to participate fully in the life of the host country and respect its democratic rules and values. It is widely acknowledged that terrorism poses a threat to democracy; governments and the public opinion, however, should be aware that the failure to devise and implement effective integration policies for immigrants will pose an equal threat to the values which are at the heart of European societies, namely equality, democratic representation and social cohesion.

5. The Assembly therefore reaffirms its vision of Europe as a multinational and multicultural society, where immigrants are included as equal members, on the basis of equality of rights and opportunities for equality of obligations, in the respect of the functioning of democracy, cultural diversity and the rule of law.

6. Equality of rights and opportunities for equality of obligations can be obtained only through an overall integration strategy aimed at establishing an appropriate legal framework, ensuring effective implementation of the law and access to legal remedies against alleged violations, involving immigrants in its elaboration and implementation, and informing the entire population on its objectives and principles.

7. Integration policies should have the dual aim of providing immigrants with the instruments to function in the society where they live and develop their potential while preserving their cultural and ethnic identity, and familiarising the non-immigrant population with the rights of immigrants, their culture, traditions and needs. Council of Europe member states should highlight the value of religious differences, but under no circumstances should it be possible to justify violations of human rights on the grounds of cultural tradition or religion. The respect of cultural and religious differences must rest on the respect of human rights by all those who live in a country, immigrants and non-immigrants.

8. The Assembly therefore recommends that the Committee of Ministers:

i. ask its relevant Committees, and in particular the European Committee on Migration, to conduct research on a Council of Europe strategy for integration and propose recommendations to this end;

ii. further promote, through its Directorate General on Education, Culture and Heritage, Youth and Sport, activities to foster inter-cultural dialogue between immigrant and non-immigrant communities;

iii. encourage the Council of Europe Development Bank to consider applications for integration projects favourably;

iv. call on member states to:

a. create inter-departmental task forces on integration to steer and monitor the integration of immigrants working in consultation with the voluntary sector, community organisations and immigrants;

b. establish introductory programmes for newly-arrived immigrants. Such programmes should:

– be accessible on a voluntary basis,

– be open to immigrants in possession of a residence permit of the duration of at least one year,

– be tailor-made on the individual needs of each beneficiary,

– include language tuition, information about the life and customs of the host society, including on how to have access to basic services such as health, housing and legal advice; provide vocational orientation and guidance to the labour market of the host country; provide information about immigrants' rights;

– provide for financial inducements to encourage participation;

c. grant immigrants who have been legally living in the country for at least 3 years the right to vote and stand in local elections and encourage activities to foster their active political participation;

d. adapt their legislation so as to allow dual or multiple citizenship;

e. facilitate family reunion;

f. encourage the active involvement of immigrant women in all aspects of the host society, including political life, as well as their access to education, vocational training and the labour market;

g. establish and implement a clear and transparent legal framework to fight against discrimination based on racial or ethnic origin and ensure effective access to legal remedies against alleged violations;

h. ensure the wide circulation of information on legal channels for recruitment and on job advertisements, especially in community and immigrants' organisations and other places habitually frequented by immigrants;

i. promote inter-cultural activities and other cultural events aiming at improving the knowledge of the culture of immigrants' communities and provide adequate funding.

II. Explanatory memorandum by Mrs Ans Zwerver

1. Introduction

1. Integration policies for immigrants have been the object of the attention of the Council of Europe since its very creation. In this regard, the Parliamentary Assembly has adopted several instruments, including Recommendation 712 (1973) on integration of migrant workers with the society of their host countries, Resolution 631 (1976) on the integration of migrants into society as regards education and cultural development, Recommendation 1206 (1993) on the integration of migrants and community relations and Recommendation 1500 (2001) on participation of immigrants and foreign residents in political life in the Council of Europe member states.

2. In 2000 the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography, at the invitation of the Netherlands' Parliament, organised a colloquy on policies for the integration of immigrants (The Hague, 16-17 November 2000). Amongst the objectives of the colloquy was promoting a political, economic, cultural and legal environment favourable to the integration of migrants. One of the Conclusions of the colloquy was that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe should adopt an instrument recommending policy measures in this domain.

3. Also the European Committee on Migration (CDMG) of the Council of Europe has devoted substantial attention to integration issues, through the publication of a number of reports and the creation of a Committee of experts specifically appointed to deal with integration and community relations. Recently, the CDMG has produced two studies of great value on this topic: 'Diversity and cohesion: new challenges for the integration of immigrants and minorities (2000)' and 'Strategies for implementing integration policies (2000)'.

4. Since then, however, the events of 11 September have threatened to undermine the progress achieved by Council of Europe member States. Before 11 September the international community and national governments were involved in a comprehensive debate on fostering the rights of migrants, integration and participation in multicultural societies, preventing illegal border crossing and establishing clear and transparent channels for legal migration. Since 11 September the immigration debate has been dominated by security and border control concerns. Governments have changed their political priorities: the legitimate aim of the fight against terrorism has been accompanied by a tightening of immigration policies while integration has taken second place.

5. Besides, 11 September has affected the public opinion's perception of foreigners and national and religious minorities, especially those issued from immigration, who are now often seen as a potential threat to national security and to fundamental values of host societies. Such attitudes are swayed by media attention to selective material and anti-immigrant views and exacerbated by the focus on illegal immigration and smuggling. 11 September has given rise to a new rhetoric which labels migrants and asylum seekers as a threat and overlooks the fact that millions of immigrants enjoy legal residence in their host countries and want to participate fully to its life and respect its democratic rules and values.

6. A similar change of priorities can be noticed also within the European Union, which is engaged in the development of a common policy on migration and asylum according to deadlines and objectives set out in the European Council of Tampere. Despite remarkable progress towards the adoption of a range of asylum instruments, the EU is clearly lagging behind schedule in the field of legal immigration. In fact, what raises most concern is that the main instruments adopted by the European Union on the issue of migration concern border control, the fight against illegal immigration and the facilitation of expulsion or return of third country nationals. Of course all these measures represent an important part of an efficient and credible migration policy but they do not exhaust the issue. The Greek Presidency, however, has placed legal immigration as one of the priorities of its agenda. During its semester political agreement has been reached on the highly controversial issue of family reunification, which had been debated over the last three years, and the adoption of a proposal on the legal status of long-term immigrants who are legal residents should follow shortly. Despite these achievements, the Commission itself regrets that other key proposals in the area of legal immigration still await adoption by the Council due to firm resistance from EU member States. These are in particular the proposal for a directive on admission of third-country nationals for purposes of employment and the proposal on the conditions for entry and residence for the purposes of studies, vocational training and voluntary service. In the words of the Commission, 'the timely adoption of these proposals should be pursued, in accordance with the JHA Council Conclusions of October 2002, which noted that the Tampere goals state that the European Union should ensure an equitable treatment of third-country nationals who reside legally in the territory of the member states and that a more vigorous integration policy should have the ambition of granting them rights and obligations comparable to those of European citizens'[1]. To this end, a first meeting of national contact points for integration took place in March 2003.

7. In June 2003 the Commission presented a Communication on immigration, integration and employment, focusing on the identification of measures to be taken at national and European level on the social and economic aspects of sustainable integration of migrants, on cultural and religious diversity as well as on the question of participation in political life and the concept of civic citizenship[2].

8. If the delay in the adoption of EU instruments on legal immigration is a reason for concern, the same can be said of the tenor of the proposals which are finally adopted by the Council. As the Commission has noticed, 'in the field of legal immigration the degree of harmonisation is at risk of being reduced to the lowest common denominator at the expense of the value added by common action at European level'.

9. Your Rapporteur regrets that EU member states have managed to find an agreement on the common fight against illegal migration while proving to be reluctant to commit to an harmonised approach to legal migration.

2. Challenges to integration policies

10. Your Rapporteur's observations about the impact of 11 September have been largely shared by the 7th Conference of Ministers responsible for Migration 'Migrants in our societies: policy choices in the 21st century' (Helsinki, 16-17 September 2002), which called for a concerted effort on the part of the local authorities and the local communities to counteract misrepresentations, discrimination and xenophobia against immigrants. In addition, the ministerial conference identified some challenges for integration policies in the coming years, and namely 'to promote societies based on equal rights, obligations and opportunities, common values inherent to a democratic society and cultural diversity; to encourage the participation of lawfully residing migrants in economic, social, cultural and political life; to promote equal access to employment for lawfully residing migrants; to reinforce regulations and monitoring of decent work conditions in accordance with relevant European and international standards to prevent exploitation, irregular employment, and to reduce unfair competition with national workers; to strengthen anti-discrimination legislation and practical measures to combat violence, discrimination, including harassment towards migrant workers at the work place'.

11. Your Rapporteur believes that such challenges require a concerted and harmonised effort of Council of Europe member states. Governments should refrain from addressing the complex issue of migration exclusively on a national basis and from the point of view of immigration control. Integration policies should be a priority of the political agenda because such policies promote societies based on democratic values. There is a widespread perception that terrorism is posing a threat to democracy. Your Rapporteur believes that governments and the public opinion should be alerted that the failure to devise and implement effective integration policies for legal immigrants will pose an equal threat to the values which are at the heart of European society, namely equality and social cohesion.

12. During the colloquy on the political impact of migration movements organised by the Political Affairs Committee (Athens, 9 June 2003), Mrs Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Dutch parliamentarian of Somali origin, highlighted the difficulties and abuses that immigrant women often face in the host country stating that ‘multiculturalism is bad for women’. Women may be victims of beatings by their own family members, raping by their husbands, genital mutilation or forced marriages. These abuses are often justified in the name of religion and the cultural traditions of their communities. Your Rapporteur believes that a multicultural society should encourage cultural difference and highlight its value, but under no circumstances should it be possible to justify violations of basic human rights on the grounds of religion and cultural tradition. The respect of cultural difference must rest on the respect of human rights, democracy and the rule of law, by all those who live in a country, citizens or foreigners. Your Rapporteur believes that the situation of immigrant women requires special attention. Member states, therefore, should encourage the active involvement of women immigrants in all aspects of the host society, including political life, as well as their access to education, vocational training and the labour market. In addition, more research is needed on the very notion of multiculturalism and its impact on immigrant women. Your Rapporteur believes that a discussion on this topic should started within the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, with a view to the adoption of a report and a draft recommendation to be presented to the Parliamentary Assembly.

3. Scope and content of the present report

13. For the purposes of the present report by 'immigrant' is intended a person lawfully residing in a country of which s/he does not hold the nationality and whose application to reside in the country has been accepted, irrespective of the reasons for the application (study, work, family reunion, need of international protection). The word 'migrant' is to be considered as a synonymous. Besides, it should be noticed that asylum seekers will not be covered by the present report, since by definition their application to stay in the host country has not been accepted. By converse, those who have been recognised as refugees under the 1951 Geneva Convention on the status of refugees and people granted humanitarian status or a subsidiary form of protection will be included, unless more favourable provisions apply to them under current international or national law on the strength of their legal status.

4. Strategies and instruments of integration

14. International migration is a reality that every country has to face, in the capacity of a country of immigration, emigration, transit or in several capacities at the same time. As people of different cultures interact with each other, they face different systems, values, customs, behaviours and social relations. This process involves adaptation on the part of both the migrant and the receiving population. Different strategies are possible to deal with the interaction between immigrants and host communities: one is segregation, consisting in separating migrant communities from the rest of the population; another one is assimilation of the immigrant population to the host community; finally there is multiculturalism, where different cultural models coexist and are accepted. Traditional immigration countries like Australia, Canada and the United States have adopted integration strategies on the basis of policies inspired by models of multiculturalism. In Europe, integration strategies tend to focus primarily on specific elements or aspects of integration, rather than emanating from an overall integration policy.

15. Amongst these specific elements or aspects of integration, your Rapporteur would like to focus on: introductory programmes for newly-arrived; political participation; acquisition of nationality; family reunion; access to employment, access to some basic services, including health and housing and cultural rights. A great contribution to this report has been given by the Hearing on policies for the integration of immigrants in Council of Europe member states (Budapest, 6 May 2003), jointly organised by the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography and the Social, Health and Family Affairs Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Finally, the present report will not deal with some aspects of national integration policies, namely those affecting young migrants and education, which have been treated in an in-depth manner in the report on the situation of young migrants in Europe prepared by Mr Yáñez-Barnuevo on behalf of the Committee of Migration, Refugees and Demography [Doc. 9645, Rec. 1596 (2003)].

a) Introductory programmes for newly-arrived

16. A review of Council of Europe member States law and practice shows an increasing awareness that introductory programmes can play a fundamental role in facilitating the integration of newly-arrived immigrants. These programmes are generally intended to provide newcomers with the instruments to be self-reliant and function in the host society, and may include language training, information about services available to immigrants and host country institutions, vocational guidance and training, and so on. Introductory programmes have been activated in Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. In the Communication to the Council and the European Parliament on a community immigration policy (22.11.2000), the European Commission advocated the development of settlement packages for all new migrants tailored to their individual needs.

17. If the purpose of introductory courses in various countries is the same, important differences can be noticed as to their characteristics, the most relevant differences being their voluntary or compulsory character, the fact of being tailor-made to meet each immigrant's needs or of general application and whether beneficiaries must live in the host country on a permanent basis or not.

18. In Finland attendance of introductory programmes is not compulsory, but sanctions can be applied to those who do not attend. Every immigrant who lives permanently in Finland, is unemployed and needs to rely on social benefits is entitled to an integration plan drawn up in co-operation with the municipality and the employment and economic development centre. This plan may include language classes, vocational training and other activities aimed at improving the integration of the beneficiary in the local community. The refusal on the part of the immigrant to participate in a reasonable measure agreed upon in the integration plan will provoke a reduction of the social benefits s/he receives.

19. In France an integration policy for newly-arrived was launched in 1999 and is implemented through programmes devised and delivered at local level. It aims at providing newcomers with a basic command of the French language, knowledge of and access to their social rights, guidance to the labour market. In 2001 40 integration plans were implemented at regional level (départments) and other 30 were under elaboration. The 15 introductory centres set up in the 15 regions most concerned by immigration gave advice to 26.336 immigrants. Multi-lingual audio-visual instruments are used to inform new-comers about living in France, dealing with the administration, having access to education and employment, as well as the fundamental values of the French society.

20. In Germany, all immigrants holding a permanent residence title can participate in 'integration programmes' within the first three years of their arrival. On receiving their residence permits, migrants are informed about this opportunity and may hold initial advisory session with the local authority. N integration plan is then compiled by the local authority in agreement with the migrant, corresponding to his/her level of language proficiency and education. During a final advisory session at the end of the course, the education authorities and the employment office should assist the immigrant in developing his/her personal and professional prospects providing vocational guidance and orientation to the labour market. There are no sanctions in case of non-attendance.

21. In the Netherlands newly arrived immigrants aged 16 years or older, settling in the Netherlands for the first time with a non-temporary goal together with some other categories of holders of temporary residence permits, must attend an interview within six weeks of arriving in a municipality or receiving a residence permit. This interview has the aim of establishing what courses of the integration programme the newcomer should attend. Within four months of this individual assessment the newcomer is required to enrol in an educational institution where, depending on his/her needs, s/he may follow courses of Dutch as a second language, social orientation and vocational guidance, for a total number of approximately 600 hours over a maximum period of two years. In addition the newcomer receives general coaching and social counselling, on an individual basis. Throughout this process, the newcomer has certain obligations, including applying for the integration interview, registering with the educational institution, attending classes, taking the final test and participating in other parts of the integration programme. Immigrants who fail to meet their obligations are liable to a reduction of benefit payments or to fines if they are not in receipt of welfare benefits.

22. In Norway, a survey made by the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration in 2001 showed that nearly 50 municipalities had established an introductory programme without financial support from the state authorities. In 2002 the Norwegian Parliament asked the government to present a bill by which all municipalities should offer an introductory programme to adult immigrants who have recently settled. 16 pilot projects have already been conducted and evaluated. The results of the evaluation, carried out by the Fafo Institute for Applied Social Science, shows that beneficiaries of introductory programmes claim that people treat them more respectfully than earlier, when they were depending on social benefits. In addition, the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration reports that in some municipalities 60-70% of the participants of introductory programmes have started mainstream education or found employment upon completion of the programme. In December 2002 the Minister for Municipal Affairs proposed that newcomers be obliged to follow a two-year integration programme in exchange for an annual sum of 108.000 Norwegian crowns (13.200 €) The sum paid out will be treated like an income and will thus be liable to taxation. Absence from lessons without a valid reason will be sanctions by reductions in the amount paid out.

23. In Sweden introductory courses are compulsory only for those who are in receipt of social benefits. Newly-arrived immigrants over the age of 16 are entitled to participate in the programme, which they can start within three years from arrival. The programme offers Swedish lessons oriented to everyday life and tries to enhance understanding of Swedish society and relevant labour market sectors. In addition, contact is established during the course between participants and potential employers. No sanctions are inflicted for non-attendance.

24. The evaluation of introductory programmes has highlighted some difficulties in their implementation: poor attendance, high rates of drop out and failure to impose sanctions against non-attendance. In fact, municipalities could rarely provide individual tailor-made programmes. In the Netherlands, an additional element is that often municipalities refrain from imposing sanctions for newcomers who fail to meet their obligations because of fundamental objections against this aspect of the policy.

25. Your Rapporteur believes that integration programmes for newcomers are fundamental instruments to facilitate the orientation of immigrants and their subsequent integration in the host society. Participation on these programmes, however, should be voluntary and not compulsory, even if some kind of financial inducement can be provided to encourage participation. As regards the beneficiaries of such programmes, they should include foreigners granted permanent residence as well as those granted temporary residence for at least one year. Such programmes should be accessible since the issuance of the relevant residence permit.

26. As to the content, newcomers programmes should provide sufficient knowledge of the language of the host country and familiarize immigrants with the main aspects of everyday life in the host country, including dealing with the administration and services of importance to them. In addition newcomers should receive individual advice and guidance on the labour market and access to education and vocational training to adapt his/her professional background to increase the possibility of finding a job.

27. Your Rapporteur believes that a special effort should be made to encourage the participation of women in newcomers integration programmes, thought appropriate information activities and other forms of positive discrimination. Whether they work or wish to work in the host country or not, women play a major role in the family and in the bringing up of children. All too often though they are not given instruments to know the society where they live or speak its language, which inevitably leads to risks of isolation and misunderstanding.

28. In the Netherlands, the Integration Task Force has recently recommended that integration courses be made compulsory not only for newcomers but also for those who have resided in the Netherlands for some time, but are not integrated. According to the Social Cultural Planning Bureau, there were some 460.000 immigrants whose participation in Dutch society was considered as unsatisfactory. The main obstacle to such proposal, however, is its cost. At present, given the budget resources, integration courses can be offered only to 40.000 immigrants.

29. The Dutch experience raises two important issues: if on one hand newcomers need specific programmes to meet their needs of orientation to the new society where they are, on the other there are thousands of immigrants living legally in Europe who do not feel integrated and lack the basic knowledge to function in society: for instance, it happens very often that parents have to rely on their children, often minors, to go to the doctor or to deal with the public administration, due to their poor knowledge of the language of the host country. Integration programmes should therefore be accessible also to immigrants who are not newcomers, according to their individual needs. Finally, adequate state, regional and local budget resources should be deployed in support of integration programmes, and the various authorities and voluntary organisations involved in this area should be encouraged to make use of all available funding possibilities, including EU funding and credits from the Council of Europe Development Bank.

b) Political participation at local level

30. The Council of Europe has constantly called on member states to improve the participation of immigrants in political life, with a particular attention to the right to vote and be elected in local elections. Your Rapporteur wishes to mention various instruments to this end adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly and by the CLRAE, such as Recommendation 76 (2000) of the CLRAE on the participation of foreign residents in local public life, CLRAE Recommendation 115 (2002) on the participation of foreign residents in local life: consultative bodies, and Assembly Recommendation 1500 (2001) on participation of immigrants and foreign residents in political life in Council of Europe member States. In addition, on several occasions the Assembly and the Committee of Ministers have called on member states to sign and ratify the European Convention on the Participation of Foreigners in Public Life at Local Level (ETS No. 144, date of signature: 5/2/92, date of entry into force: 1/5/92).

31. The above-mentioned instruments aim to improve the integration of foreign residents into the life of the community where they live. The main argument to foster such participation is that at least at local level citizens and legal residents have the same obligations; therefore they should also have the same rights. As far as voting rights are concerned, member states are asked to grant to every foreign national the right to vote and stand in local elections. As to the length of legal residence, the European Convention on Participation of Foreigners in Public Life at Local Level requires 5 years, while Assembly Recommendation 1500 (2001) requires only 3 years.

32. Despite the efforts of the Council of Europe, the issue of voting rights in local elections remains very controversial, and member states have proved to be very reluctant to implement the recommendations of the Assembly and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities. The European Convention on the Participation of Foreigners in Public Life at Local Level, on the other hand, had received only 6 ratifications as of 6 June 2003 (Denmark, Finland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden). In addition to the countries which have ratified this Convention, legal immigrants have the right to vote and stand in local elections in other five Council of Europe member states, including Ireland (after six months of legal residence), Lithuania, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom, on the basis of national provisions. In December 2002 the municipal Council of the city of Vienna adopted a proposal to grant non-EU citizens the right to vote and stand in elections for the councils of the city's boroughs, upon condition that they have resided legally in Vienna for at least five years. However, they will not be allowed to stand for mayor or deputy mayor of any of the boroughs, as well as members of the borough's building council. In Belgium in 1998 an amendment to the Constitution recognised the right of immigrants to vote in local elections, leaving it to the statute to set the conditions for the exercise of this right. To date this statute has not been adopted due to lack of agreement in Parliament. There is also a fear from some political forces that granting voting rights to migrants would shift the vote of the non-immigrant population towards the extreme right.

33. Your Rapporteur wishes to reiterate the recommendation to Council of Europe member states to grant immigrants who have been legally living in the country for at least 3 years the right to vote and stand in local elections. Failure to do so would result in incomplete democratic representation of the community.

34. Your Rapporteur highlights that the concept of 'civic integration' has been raised for some years within the European Union. In particular the European Conference on the integration of immigrants, organised by the European Economic and Social Committee in September 2002, called for increased political rights for migrants, in support of the concept of 'civic integration', based on bringing immigrants' rights and means of civic participation progressively into line with those of the rest of the population. The Conference concluded that 12-15 million migrants could not be excluded from the political process, and that nationality was not the only definition of political rights. There needed to be a set of fundamental rights for all residents of the Union, and the Convention should propose an overall package of rights and obligations as part of a European civic citizenship for all residents of the Union.

35. Your Rapporteur support the notion of civic citizenship, which is in line with the traditional Council of Europe approach that equal obligations should imply equal rights and opportunities. The Hearing on policies for the integration of immigrants in Council of Europe member states (Budapest, 6 May 2003) reached similar conclusions.

36. A related issue is that of the effective participation of immigrants in local political life. As Mr Hancock noted during the above-mentioned Budapest hearing, in his constituency only 10% of the immigrants who are entitled to vote exercised this right during the last local elections. Very often for immigrant communities elections in their countries of origin are more important than the elections for the area where they live. This may be due to a certain apathy stemming from the conviction that immigrants could not have any significant impact on the way that the local community is run as well as to a lack of information and political awareness. Politicians and political parties have a special role to play in this respect, to involve immigrants in electoral campaigns and raise their concern, as well as to encourage candidatures from people with an immigrant background.

c) Acquisition of nationality

37. The acquisition of the nationality of the host country is a very powerful instrument of integration. Nationality criteria differ considerably amongst Council of Europe member states. Some countries tend to prioritise the principle of blood relation (principle of ius sanguinis), while others stress the importance of the place of birth (the principle of ius soli). For example, in Germany the new law on nationality provides citizenship based on birth in Germany (ius solis) to children born to immigrant parents. Similarly in Ireland, the Constitution grants automatic citizenship to all individuals born in the country.

38. In most Council of Europe member states it is possible to acquire the nationality of the host country via naturalisation, i.e. on the basis of the length of legal residence. The length of legal residence required varies considerably. For example, Austria, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, and Slovenia require 10 years; Germany and Hungary require 8 years; while Finland, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Romania, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia require 5 years. In Denmark the new law on naturalisation requires a length of legal residence of 7 years.

39. A trend can been noticed in some Council of Europe member states to make naturalization conditional upon the successful completion of integration programmes. For instance, since July 2002, to acquire Danish nationality immigrants must be tested on their knowledge of the Danish language and Danish “society, legal principles and values”. In addition, applicants for nationality will have to sign a statement confirming their commitment to obey Danish laws and respect Denmark's basic legal principles, including human rights. Similar requirements have been introduced in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

40. As far as figures are concerned, it is more difficult to identify a trend. In France, according to the latest annual report of the High Council on Integration, the number of naturalisations in 2001 was 16% less than in 2000 and the number of acquisitions of French citizenship through marriage dropped by 12%. In Denmark, as a result of the new restrictive criteria to grant citizenship, the number of naturalised citizens fell drastically from some 20.000 in 2001 to about 2.000 in 2002. In Austria, by converse, 36.011 foreigners were granted Austrian citizenship in 2002, an unprecedented record. Among the main countries of origin were Turkey (12.623), Bosnia-Herzegovina (5.913), Serbia and Montenegro (4.806), Croatia (2.537), Romania (1.774) and Poland (930). About one third of the total number of naturalisations were granted on the grounds of the requirement of 10 years of legal residence; 11.121 of the total were people born in Austria to foreign parents.

41. Naturalisation is an issue with many facets: it is a powerful instrument for integration, but at the same time it should not be imposed on immigrants as the only way to have equal rights with citizens in fundamental aspects of life such as political participation at local level, access to employment, education, housing and health services. At the same time naturalisation can be very problematic in those countries which do not recognise the possibility of dual citizenship because even immigrants who were born in the host country or have lived there for many years may be unwilling to severe their legal and emotional links with their country of origin. Finally, after September 11, the introduction of stricter naturalisation laws and policies can be used as an instrument to ensure that foreigners can always be expelled for reasons relating to security and public order, which is not the case with citizens.

42. Naturalisation is a question of identity: in a multinational society it should be possible for a foreigner to be respected and enjoy fundamental rights as a foreigner and not only by acquiring the nationality of the host country. Naturalisation criteria, however, should not be set at an unreasonably high level as a pretext to limit as much as possible the number of applications. In addition, Council of Europe member states should modify their national law so as to allow dual citizenship.

d) Family reunion

43. The 1950 European Convention for the protection of human rights guarantees the protection of family and private life. In addition safeguarding family unity constitutes a universally recognised right enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Governments are aware that family reunification represents a right as well as a fundamental instrument to achieve the integration of immigrants and yet they have proved very reluctant to achieve a harmonised approach to this question.

44. The process to reach an agreement within the European Union is very symptomatic: only after more than three years of difficult negotiations, under the Greek Presidency the Council has finally reached an agreement on the Directive on family reunification. It is regrettable, though, that the final outcome for certain provisions is not close to the Tampere ambitions as the Commission would have wished, especially as regards the definition of family members.

45. Similar difficulties have been experienced within the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe: two attempts by Mrs Aguiar (Portugal, EPP) to submit a draft recommendation on the issue, on behalf of the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography, have been unsuccessful. The main bones of content were the definition of family members, the proposal to allow family reunion for asylum seekers and the reduction of the required minimum length of residence to apply for family reunion to one year. At the moment Mrs Zapfl-Helbling is Rapporteur for the same Committee on 'human mobility and right to family reunion', further to a motion put forward by Mrs Aguiar.

46. Despite these difficulties, the Council of Europe has developed a body of recommendations applying to family reunification, contained in several separate instruments. As for the Committee of Ministers, it is worth mentioning Recommendation No. R (99)23 on family reunion for refugees and other persons in need of international protection (15 December 1999) and Recommendation Rec(2002)4 on the legal status of persons admitted for family reunification (26 March 2002). As for the Parliamentary Assembly, relevant provisions are included in Recommendation 1596 (2003) on the situation of young migrants in Europe, to which the Committee of Ministers has not yet provided a reply. Such provisions foresee:

- the facilitation of family reunion of separated children with their parents in other Council of Europe member states, even when parents do not have permanent residence status or are asylum seekers, in compliance with the best principles of the child;

- the favourable consideration of requests for family reunification between separated children and family members other than parents who have a legal title to reside in a Council of Europe member state, are over 18 years of age and are willing and able to support them;

- the facilitation of family reunion of separated young people with mental or physical disabilities, including those who are over 18 years of age, with their parents or other adult family members upon whom they were dependants in the country of origin/country of habitual residence and who are legally residing in a Council of Europe member states.

47. A brief review of the situation in Council of Europe member states show that all of them allow family reunion but requirements and procedures differ considerably. Restrictions on family reunification often relate to length of residence, employment status, access to housing and earning capacity, or availability of documentation proving family links. For example, family reunion is possible in Denmark after 3 years of permanent residence and in Greece after 5 years. In Austria family reunion is limited under an immigration quota. In Italy there is no fixed annual quota for foreign nationals who can be admitted for family reunification. Under the 2002 Aliens Act immigrants holding a residence permit of the duration of at least one year can apply for the reunification of the spouse and minor children. In Denmark several conditions must be met for spouses/cohabitants to be reunited, for instance 'the aggregate attachment of both spouses to Denmark must be greater than their attachment to another country'.

48. In addition, the notion of family is generally interpreted very restrictively, to include only the spouse and minor children. Sometimes, like in Sweden, parents who were dependent on and cohabited with the immigrant in the country of origin can also be reunited. In Italy, the new Alien Act has restricted the possibility of family reunification for dependent parents: they can be reunited only where there is evidence that no other child could support them in the country of origin. In addition, disabled and dependant family members other than spouse and minor children cannot benefit from family reunification any longer. By contrast, the new Act extends the possibility of family reunification for children who are of age but who are not self-sufficient or inapt for work. In Denmark, spouses, cohabiting companions and registered partners and children under 18 years of age can be reunited. Following the legislation change passed in 2002, however, only spouses over 24 years of age can be reunited. It is possible, however, that this age limit is changed following the draft EU Directive on Family reunification, on which political agreement was reached in February 2003: the Progressive Liberals have suggested that it is lowered to 21 years of age while the Christian People's Party argue that the age limit should be lowered to 18.

49. Family reunification is one of the major sources of immigration in most European states, but figures are considerably different from one country to the other: in Italy immigrants admitted for family reunion were 48.000 in 1998, 56.000 in 2000 and 60.000 in 2001; in 2002 Denmark received 11.250 applications for family reunification compared to 15.370 in 2001. A total of 8.151 applications were granted in 2002, compared to 10.950 in 2001. In 2001, 22.168 people were granted family reunification in France.

50. Your Rapporteur is aware that the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography will start very soon dealing with the issue of family reunification with a view to proposing a text to be submitted to the Parliamentary Assembly. Therefore, your Rapporteur does not consider it necessary to include detailed proposals on family reunification in the present report, since Mrs Zapfl-Helbling will address the issue and stimulate the debate after more in-depth research. Your Rapporteur is convinced that this would be a good opportunity to adopt a consolidated instrument including all the Council of Europe recommendations referring to family reunion and integrating the gaps with fresh policy proposals. It is important, however, that a recommendation of the Parliamentary Assembly on the issue of integration reiterates firmly the following elements:

- family reunion is a fundamental means to achieve the full integration of immigrants and should be based on a clear and transparent legal framework;

- the procedure to obtain family reunion should be made as simple as possible, and a precise and reasonable deadline should be set to decide over the merits of an application;

- Council of Europe member states should facilitate family reunion for family members other than spouses or minor children where there are special circumstances that put such family members in a situation of vulnerability.

e) Employment

51. Unemployment is often a main reason why immigrants do not feel integrated. In the Netherlands, official statistics indicate that in 2001 almost half of the members of non-white ethnic minorities were in employment, compared to just 70% of the indigenous population. This represents a rise in the activity rate of non-white ethnic minorities in recent years, from a figure of only 37% in 1995. There is, however, a wide variation in the activity rates of the different ethnic groups: whereas more than 40% of Moroccans are in paid employment the figure for Surinamese immigrants is about 60%. On the other hand, although there are generally more men in employment than women, the proportion of Surinamese women at work is higher that that for native Dutch women.

52. In most Council of Europe member states immigrants are a group particularly affected by unemployment, for a series of reasons ranging from sheer discrimination to lack or non-recognition of appropriate qualifications. This is not always the case, however, as a recent piece of research conducted in Spain seems to indicate. Foreign nationals with a residence permit in Spain were over 1 million 400 hundred thousands in 2002, i.e. 4% of the entire population. According to recent research[3], the employment rate of legal immigrants (70,2%) is higher than that of Spanish nationals (55%). Moreover, the employment rate of female immigrants (43,3%) is also higher than that of Spanish women (38.5%), even if certain groups such as Moroccans have lower rates. Immigrant workers tend to be employed in construction, agriculture, tourism and domestic services. In industrialised areas, however, immigrants are beginning to occupy positions in sectors which did not use to employ them in the past, such as chemicals and metalworking, in particular on night shifts. Informal recruitment channels play a major role, particularly social networks of people of the same national origin. This explains the concentration in large metropolitan regions, such as Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia, but also the residential concentration of immigrants.

53. The Spanish case requires some explanation: immigrants generally occupy jobs requiring relatively low qualifications, on temporary contracts or simply in the underground economy. All of this affects working conditions and salary. The salary of immigrant workers tends to be below the minimum salary, as is overtime pay, and many immigrants work without a defined timetable and with only one day off per week and no holidays. Often they are dismissed before the holidays. These conditions often arise in small companies without trade union representation, where workers are unaware of the conditions that they can demand.

54. Besides, the Spanish case helps disproving two common places: the first one, that immigrants are in competition with national workers for the same jobs; the second, that immigration generates undeclared work. In fact, immigrants tend to enter a segment of the work market that national workers abandon if they can, since it is low-paid, has difficult working hours and working conditions. Since they can have recourse to the family network or to social benefits, nationals prefer to face periods of unemployment while waiting for better opportunities, rather than occupying these positions. Similarly, a EU-funded research project entitled 'Migrant Insertion in the Informal Economy' (2002) refutes the idea that illegal immigration spawns the underground economy: on the contrary, it is the presence of a pre-existing underground economy to act as a magnet for poorer immigrants, encouraging them to stay in Europe. The same report confirms the lack of competition between immigrants and national workers, since the first ones tend to take 'dirty, difficult and dangerous jobs' which nationals refuse to do. The report further warns that 'should immigration sharply decline, unemployment would actually rise, and not the other way round'.

55. Your Rapporteur welcomes these pieces of research, which help clarifying the real impact of immigrants on national economies, and wishes that their results were circulated as much as possible among the public opinion and politicians.

56. Furthermore, your Rapporteur believes that Council of Europe member states should make greater efforts to improve the legal framework to combat discrimination on racial/ethnic grounds and ensure the effective implementation of such framework. The European Commission against Racism and Intolerance of the Council of Europe (ECRI) in its country reports has several times pointed out at inadequacies or gaps in national legislations, which result in discrimination against immigrants. Council of Europe member states should endeavour to comply with ECRI recommendations. In addition, for those countries who are also EU members, your Rapporteur notices that the Council Directive on implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin[4] has not been complied with in all its parts by some member states. For instance, some states have not adapted their legislation to ensure that in court or other proceedings where it may be presumed that there has been direct or indirect discrimination the burden of proof be on the defendant instead of the applicant[5].

57. Finally, your Rapporteur recommends the creation of national bodies to positively promote the equal treatment of foreigners and their non-discrimination on racial/ethnic grounds, within the relevant ministries or government departments.

f) Access to housing

58. Services for homeless people and the NGO sector recognise the specificity of immigrants as a group particularly exposed to homelessness or poor housing. A common challenge to all Council of Europe member states relates to the difficulties faced by immigrants in gaining access to the housing market due to widespread discrimination by private landlords and/or neighbours. Equally alarming is the exploitation of immigrants in the housing market: unscrupulous landlords take advantage of their situation and charge high rents for unacceptable accommodation.

59. In Germany, a survey conducted in 1998 indicates that immigrants account for 10.6% of the total users of services for the homeless, i.e. 12 750 people, 3600 of whom are EU nationals. In Italy, official estimates for 2001 indicated that 45% of the homeless were immigrants (including illegal immigrants). In Finland, the number of homeless immigrants has increased during the last decade, especially in Helsinki and other cities. In 2001 there were approximately 290 homeless immigrant individuals and 210 homeless immigrant families in the metropolitan area of Helsinki. According to the Helsinki Welfare Office these numbers are on the rise.

60. Another problem regards overcrowding and other living conditions. In Norway, according to the 2001 Population and housing census, 17% of persons of non-immigrant background live in dwellings with more than four persons, as opposed to 31% non-western immigrants. This particularly applies to persons from Asia who live in the largest households. As much as 60% of immigrants from Pakistan live in dwellings with 5 or more persons. Only 4% of the non-immigrant population live in dwellings of less than 50 square metres, as opposed to 17% of non-western immigrants. Public housing may also may also give rise to concern, in so far as its standards are poor and the policy of allocations engenders ethnic segregation.

g) Culture

61. The Hearing on policies for the integration of immigrants in Council of Europe member states (Budapest, 6 May 2003) devoted a session to the issue of culture and cultural rights. Several points were raised during the debate: the need for immigrant communities to preserve their culture and find channels to express it and the importance of practicing their own language along with the language of the host country. On the other hand it is equally important that the non-immigrant population is familiar the culture and traditions of the main countries of origin of the immigrant population, and possibly acquire some knowledge of their language. Several programmes have been initiated in Council of Europe member states, most often at the local level and with public funding. Besides, the voluntary sector is increasingly active in this area. Such programmes should be supported and funded by Council of Europe member states as an invaluable tool of intercultural dialogue. Similarly, initiatives of immigrants in the area of arts should be encouraged, with adequate access to funding and exhibition or performance venues.

5. Conclusions and recommendations

62. Your Rapporteur believes that the current international situation poses new challenges to integration policies in all Council of Europe member states. While it is legitimate and important to ensure security against the terrorist threat, also through a more efficient border control, it is necessary to keep in mind that immigrants are a part of our societies and that their participation is a fundamental condition for social cohesion, equality and democratic representation.

63. The full integration of immigrants in Europe is necessary to ensure that the values at the heart of our societies are fully respected and not only because immigration brings economic benefits and helps alleviate the European demographic deficits. In this sense, your Rapporteur believes in the need to overcome the functionalist approach which considers immigrants in their capacity of workers or potential workers. Immigrants are part of our societies irrespective of whether they work or not, whether they contribute to competitiveness of economy or to balance the demographic deficit and help to pay for future pensions. It is necessary to keep such an issue high on governments' agendas, since a lack of appropriate integration policies would inevitably result in a democratic deficit.

64. In these conclusions, your Rapporteur wishes to mention a survey which has been recently conducted by the Institute NIPO in the Netherlands[6]. The survey concerned the perception of integration held by native Dutch people and by the main immigrant communities, on the basis of a set of questions asked to representative samples of Dutch, Turks, Moroccans and people from Suriname/Dutch West Indies. When asked whether immigrants need to adopt Dutch norms and values for integration, 67% of Dutch respondents said that such adaptation was very important, but only 22% of Turkish, 21% of Moroccans and 40% of Surinamese and Antilleans respondents agreed with them. When asked to what degree should members of ethnic minorities adapt to the Dutch way of life, 34% of native Dutch said completely and 57% said to a large extent. On the contrary, only 5% of the Moroccan and none of the Turkish respondents chose completely as their answer. 50% of Moroccan and 41% of Turkish respondent said to a large extent. Surprisingly, when asked if it is necessary to respect each other's religion, 24% of Turkish respondents felt it was necessary, followed by 26% of Moroccan respondents and 20% of those of Surinamese/Dutch West Indian origin, but only 8% of those of Dutch origin. Finally, almost three out of four Dutch respondents considered that ethnic minorities were not doing enough efforts to integrate, whereas a majority of respondents of immigrant origin held the opposite view, including 86% of Moroccans.

65. In your Rapporteur's opinion this survey shows how much the objectives of integration policies are misunderstood by both groups, immigrants and non-immigrants, and how much it is still to be done in the areas of intercultural dialogue, mutual respect and knowledge, equality and non-discrimination. Your Rapporteur has drafted a preliminary draft recommendation which is attached to the present report.

66. Going back to the survey, when asked whether they had confidence in the successful integration of immigrants, most Dutch respondents replied that they had very little; unlike them, but like the immigrant respondents, your Rapporteur is more optimistic.

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Reporting Committee: Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography.

Reference to committee: Doc. 9161, Ref. No. 2640, 25.9.2001

Draft recommendation unanimously adopted by the Committee on 23 June 2003

Members of the Committee: Mr Iwinski (Chairperson), Mr Einarsson (1st Vice-Chairperson), Mrs Bušic (2nd Vice-Chairperson), Mrs de Zulueta (3rd Vice-Chairperson), Mrs Akgün, MM. Akhvlediani, Alibeyli, Arabadjiev (alternate: Kirilov), de Arístegui, Arzilli, Bernik, Van den Brande, Branger, Braun, Brînzan, Brunhart, Cabrnoch, Çavusoglu, Christodoulides, Cilevics, Çörüz, Danieli, Debarge, Dmitrijevas, Dokle, Donabauer, Dubié, Mrs Err, Mrs Filipiová, Mr Freiherr von und zu Guttenberg, Mrs Frimannsdóttir, MM. Grzesik, Grzyb, Gülçiçek, Hagberg, Hancock, Higgins, Mrs Hoffmann, MM. Hovhannisyan, Ilascu, Ivanov, Lord Judd, Mr Karpov, Mrs Kósá-Kovács, MM. Koulouris, Kulikov, Kvakkestad, Le Guen, Liapis, Loutfi, Matviychuk, Mrs Nabholz-Haidegger (alternate: Mrs Zapfl-Helbling), MM. Naro (alternate: Rivolta), Nasufi, Nessa, Olin, Popa, Prijmireanu, Puche (alternate: Fernández Aguilar), Pullicino Orlando, Raguž, Rakhansky, Reymann, Mrs Shakhtakhtinskaya, MM. Slutsky (alternate: Fedorov), Soendergaard, Mrs Stoisits, MM. Stübgen, Tekelioglu, Tkác, Vera Jardim, Mrs Vermot-Mangold, MM. Vieira, Wilkinson, Wray, Yáñez-Barnuevo, Zavgayev (alternate: Tulaev), Zhirinovsky, Mrs Zwerver.

N.B. The names of those members present at the meeting are printed in italics.

Secretariat of the committee: Mr Lervik, Mrs Nachilo, Mrs Sirtori-Milner

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[1] Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on Biannual update of the scoreboard to review progress on the creation of an area of ‘freedom, security and justice’ in the European Union (first half of 2003), 22.5.2003, COM(2003)291 final

[2] COM(2003)336 final, 3 June 2003.

[3] M. Pajares, La inserción laboral de las personas inmigradas, CERES, Barcelona, 2002

[4] Directive 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000.

[5] On the issue of non-discrimination in EU member states see the recent report by the Jan Niessen and Isabelle Chopin on Racial, Ethnic and Religious Discrimination, A comparative analysis of national and European law, 2002.

[6] See Migration News Sheet, April 2003, and www.contrastonline.nl