“A common framework for the integration of citizens of third countries”: that’s the title of the 3rd annual Report on migration and integration adopted during the meeting of European Commissioners in Brussels on 12 September, and presented to the high-level Conference on legal immigration held on 13-14 September on the initiative of the Portuguese Presidency of the EU and Commissioners Franco Frattini (freedom, justice and security) and Vladimir Spidla (employment, social affairs and equal opportunities). The document starts out from the presupposition that “it’s not a question of choosing between a future with or without immigration, but being able to integrate present and future immigrants not only in the world of work but also in all spheres of society”, with the aim of “fulfilling the real potential of immigration by giving immigrants the opportunity to integrate in the society and economy of their host country”. Apart from summarising the policies being enforced in the 27 member states, the Report presents the various stages of the European decision-making process in this field and presents “new initiatives” to promote the principles of participation and active citizenship. Brussels pledges to define “common indicators and criteria that can be used by the member states on a voluntary basis to evaluate the results of integration policies”.
