"Immigration is still the main factor in the rise of the population within the European Union". Every year, about two million people come to the EU from "third countries", and the foreign citizens residing in the EU amount to about 20 million, i.e. 4% of the total population. These figures, provided by the third Yearly Report on Migration and Integration, published today by the EU Commission, will be discussed at the high-level conference on legal immigration, organised by the Portuguese presidency, due in Lisbon tomorrow and on Friday. The Report reviews "the measures taken to admit citizens from third countries, offers an overview of the political developments, and helps strengthen measures for integration". The Deputy President of the EU Executive, Franco Frattini, explains: "Accomplishing the full potential of immigration is possible, provided immigrants are given a chance to fit in, in the society and economy of the host country". The Report contains information on the development of the EU framework to integrate foreign workers and their families, and announces "that the EU Commission is committed to developing new initiatives to extend such framework, for instance by looking at the way participation and citizenship can promote the integration process".
