Migrations Programme - [05/29/2008]

The countries of the European Union must strengthen their immigrant integration policies

As part of the seminar “Immigration policy in Europe. Current challenges ”, which was held in Bilbao on 20-21 May, Gemma Pinyol, Coordinator of the CIDOB Foundation's Migrations Programme, presented the MIPEX index, which she defined as a useful instrument for learning about the reality of immigrant integration policies in EU countries. Pinyol noted that as many European countries are currently immersed in conceptual debates about what integration means, and which formulas can best guarantee the incorporation of new citizens into the welcoming societies, the MIPEX index can help to evaluate to what extent integration policies are really encouraging the incorporation and adaptation of newcomers in the countries analysed.

During the seminar, which was organised by the European Institute for Public Administration - European Centre for Regions (EIPA-CER) and the Basque Institute of Public Administration (IVAP), and aimed mainly at people linked with the management of public administrations, the participants discussed the main challenges to immigration policies in Europe, paying attention to key issues such as immigration in political discourse, its contribution to the economies of destination countries and the challenges to immigration integration policies on a local scale. Participants at the seminar included renowned experts such as Jean-Pierre Garson, Head of the of Non-Member Economics and International Migrations Division at the OECD; Ricard Zapata-Barrero, Lecturer in Political Science at the Pompeu Fabra University; Christine Adam, from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM); Katerina Kyrieri, from the European Institute of Public Administration, Brussels, and Roberto Marro, Director of Immigration in the Basque Government.