Migration in Europe: Old hosts,
Recent Hosts and Countries in
Transition
Executive Training Migration in the EU and its Neighbourhood
Florence, 21 January 2013
by Anna Triandafyllidou
3. FRANCE Main features
France has been a country of immigration since the mid 19th
century.
French immigration management policy was motivated by the
necessity to meet the labour market needs
French integration policy
◦ Followed the Republican ideology of a common civic culture
– cultural and ethnic diversity is only for the private sphere
◦ Generous naturalisation policy
4. The population of France
• In 2007, 61,795,000 people living in France:
– 89.9% were French by birth,
– 4.3 % were French by naturalisation,
– 5.8% were Foreigners.
• Eurostat in 2009,
– foreigners made up 5.8 % (i.e. some 3,675,000)
– 2% came from the EU27 countries
– 3.8% from outside EU27
• The fact that official statistics only record nationality results in statistically
concealing the diversity of the population after a few generations.
5. Main immigrant groups in France
608 2,000 (40%): Europe (Belgium,
12%
Germany, Italy, Netherlands,
222 Poland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland
5%
and United Kingdom).
2 000
40% 1,500 (31%): North Africa (Algeria,
570
12% Morocco and Tunisia)
570 (12%): Sub-Saharan Africa
(Cameroon, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire,
Senegal and Mali)
222 (5%): Turkey
1 500
608 (12%): Rest of the World
31% (including China)
7. Nationality Laws in France
• 1986: the Chirac government (right-wing) introduced a new bill to bring automatic
naturalisation of second generation immigrants to a halt (n.b. the case of children
of Algerian parents born in France)
• 1993: the Pasqua laws were passed (right-wing government), including the
requirement that second generation immigrants actively declare their desire to be
French.
• 1998: the Guigou law (left-wing government) suppressed the requirement for the
second generation to make an express declaration that they desired to be French.
• In 2007, the government created a Ministry of Immigration and National Identity,
clearly articulating the link between the two notions. The same year, it introduced
a New Reception and Integration Contract for newly arrived migrants to follow (it
consists in language learning and knowledge acquisition).
• In 2010, however, having launched a series of debates over national identity and
having received many criticisms, this Ministry was dissolved (tasks reassigned to
the Ministry of the Interior)
8. Naturalisation
• The number of people receiving French citizenship had been
falling
– 2004 approx. 170,000 people per year
– 2007 approx. 132,000
– 2008, 137,000 naturalisations (clearing backlog)
• Requirements: 5 years legal residence,
• average rate of acceptance from 2000 to 2004 was 78%
approx.
• ‘Assimilation criteria’: knowledge of French language, stable
financial resources, current residence in France, Republican
values
9. New measures on integration and family
reunification
• Implementation of the 2007 law on immigration, integration and asylum -
30 Oct 2008 France passed a decree on the preparation for integration in
France of non-EU nationals who want to settle in the country.
– New procedure for family reunification. Family members of an immigrant who
fulfils all the requirements have to pass a test of their knowledge of the
French language and culture when still in their origin country.
– Those who do not pass the test must attend language training for up to 2
months before they can obtain a long-term visa.
– A contrat d’accueil et d’intégration pour la famille (CAIF) to be signed by TCNs
who have been granted family reunification, should they have children in
France, was also introduced
– Also assessment of skills to encourage family members to enter the labour
market
10. Republican Assimilationism in crisis?
• Republican Assimilationism
– It is up to individuals to integrate
– Citizenship acquisition relatively open
– Integration inextricably linked to equality at the
individual level
• Problematic issue: the affaire du foulard – and
the law on ostentatious religious symbols
2004
11. GERMANY: Major issues
• Post war co-ethnic flows
• The partition of Germany and East to West
migration during Cold War
• Guest worker migration
• Deutschland ist kein Einwanderungsland
• Change in citizenship law (2000)
• Recent initiatives for integration and the
question of Muslims
12. Early post war migrations and until 1989
• Early post war period 1945-1949
– 12 million Germans/Ethnic Germans fled to Germany from former
German territories/other parts Eastern Europe. 2/3s went to western
Germany (FRG).
• 1950-1989
– Before the Berlin Wall (1961) 3.8 million Germans moving from West
to East Germany
– 400 000 people migrating from the GDR to the FRG despite closed
borders. Another 1.4 million ethnic Germans migrated from Eastern
Europe to the FRG
13. The ‘Guest Workers’
• The guest workers (till 1973)
– Late 50s labor shortage in the economically recovering
Germany
– Bilateral agreements with several southern European states
altogether 14 million workers came to Germany and most
of them left again.
– Plan: let them work for 1-2 years and then exchange them for
other guest workers this process was stopped in 1973, but
workers who had a job were allowed to remain 2.7 million
rested and gained long term or permanent residence permits
this fact was not intended in the beginning.
– Those were in large extend followed by family members from
their country of origin.
14. Migrant population and naturalisation
Migrant population
• In 1991 – 5.9 million
• In 1996 till 2003 – 7.3 million
• In 2004 – 6.7 million
• Between 1994 and 2003, 1.2 million people received German citizenship.
Hence there is a modest positive net migration balance which is levelled
out by naturalisations.
• Among foreigners, over 5 million were foreign born in mid 2000s. But of
those under 17 years of age less than 1/3rd were foreign born.
• Average duration of residence for foreign nationals in 2005 was 17 years.
15. Citizenship and immigration law
• Citizenship law
– Children of non-German citizens born in Germany have access to
German citizenship, legal and unlimited residence permit of at least
one of the parents for at least 8 years. When aged 18–23, the child has
to decide on German or another nationality.
– Mistrust towards Muslims. Differential approach to c/ship by different
national groups.
• Immigration law 2002
– A point system but then scrapped – fear of liberalising migration
management
– Introduction of obligatory integration courses for new entrants (600
hours lang.lessons and 30 hours civics)
16. Current migration challenges in Germany
• Negative opinion about Islam – “parallel societies”
– But segregation related to Germany’s non-immigration policy for more
than 30 years no one wanted to integrate foreigners, because they
were not supposed to stay.
• Emphasis on integration – socio-economic
more than cultural-religious
– Countering higher unemployment and welfare
dependence among immigrants and their
descendants. This is the main focus.
17. BRITAIN: Major issues
• The British empire legacy
• An outward looking economy
• Multicultural Britain
• Super diversity
• What role for and in Europe?
• Where do we go from here?
18. The size of the immigrant population in Britain
Inflows per category Major national groups
• 60 million resident population according to LFS, 2008
– In 2008, 6.6 million foreign • Poles 521,000
born • Irish 357,000
• In 2006, 30% entered on a work
permit, 32% on family
• Indians 284,000
reunification, 9% on • Pakistanis 175,000
humanitarian reasons, the rest as • US citizens 134,000
free movement within EU (about
30%). • French 120,00
19.
20. Ethnic minorities and race relations
• The British integration model:
– Race relations since 1965 – anti discrimination but also measures to
integrate communities not only individuals
– Since 2000 with EU directives against discrimination the framework
strengthened. Further more on 2006 The Racial and Religious Hatred
Act.
• Territorial concentration of ethnic minorities.
– Census 2001: Half of them resided in the Greater London Area
accounting for 20% of its populationo. 95% resided in England (only
5% in Scotland and Wales). Similar percentages for asylum seekers and
refugees
21. Prejudice and acceptance
• [T]he English seemed to display more hostility towards the
West Indians because they sought a greater degree of
acceptance than the English wished to accord; in more recent
times there seemed to have been more hostility towards
Asians because they are insufficiently inclined to adopt the
English ways. (Michael Banton 1972)
• “Whereas Asians are perceived to be integrating positively
into Britain, contributing a welcome spiciness and novelty to
British culture, Muslims are regarded as an alienated,
problematic minority.” (Pnina Werbner 2004)
22. Multiculturalism in crisis?
• 9/11 and 2005 London bombings –problems of social cohesion
• Multiculturalism needs to be overhauled and reformed - The 2001
crisis – driven by the summer 2001 violence in northern English
cities – also 1997 victory of New Labour – emphasis on social
cohesion
– Emphasis in civic integration
– Citizenship ceremonies
– Requirement to learn the language
• Conservatives in power 2010
– “muscular” liberalism – emphasis on citizenship values and civic
integration but communities remain important
23. Question for discussion
• Which model would you see your country
fitting in?
– Republican assimilationism (France)
– Segmented integration (Germany)
– Multiculturalism (Britain)
