New FRA Report: Together in the EU: Promoting the participation of migrants and their descendants

Today the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) has published an EU wide comparative report entitled, Together in the EU - Promoting the participation of migrants and their descendants.

The report examines Member States' integration policies and action plans for promoting migrant’s participation in society, with a focus on non-discrimination, education, employment, language learning and political engagement.

Alongside the comparative report, the FRA have published the country reports that inform the comparative analysis, including HRLC's UK report (PDF) written by Dr Teresa Staniewicz (Centre Manager, Centre for Rights, Equality and Diversity, University of Warwick) and Ms Laura Wills, HRLC Research and Project Officer.

Of particular note in the UK is the distinct lack of a national integration strategy for migrants. The emphasis is placed on refugee integration strategies and, more widely, through the historical development of 'Race Relations' policies. This has led to prominence being given by policymakers to 'minorities' and little development of policies around (new) migrant integration in the UK. Additionally, as a result of global and domestic events, debates in the UK have focused on strong borders to keep newcomers out which has, to some extent, overtaken the promotion of good 'race relations'.

The UK report also found that experiences of integration vary significantly across the country because of differences in governance, political priorities, demography and local attitudes. Measurement and monitoring of migrant integration in the UK has also not been a policy priority resulting in a striking lack of available data required in order to assess and prioritise resource needs at the local level. The UK report notes that barriers to integration persist. These include high levels of discrimination experienced by minorities and migrants across public domains, such as the labour market, and persisting perceptions that new migrants have impacted negatively on UK society.

However, a number of initiatives carried out at the local level by local authorities, civil society and migrant communities that collectively support the integration of migrants across the UK are also identified in the report.