Supporting Immigrant Integration in Europe: What Role for Origin Countries’ Subnational Authorities?
A new Migration Policy Institute Europe report, Supporting Immigrant Integration in Europe: What Role for Origin Countries’ Subnational Authorities?, examines the efforts that a number of major migrant-sending countries—including Morocco, Turkey, and Mexico—have undertaken to promote the successful integration of their immigrants abroad. The report is part of the INTERACT research initiative co-financed by the European Commission, which is examining to what extent policies in EU Member States and origin countries complement or contradict each other with regards to immigrant integration.
The substantial role that subnational authorities in EU Member States play in the governance of migrant integration is widely recognized. Regional and local authorities in Member States have control over the implementation and delivery of a wide array of integration-related services. However, while much is known about integration at the subnational level in receiving countries, little is known about the role of corresponding authorities in migrant-sending countries.
A number of major migrant-sending countries (including Morocco, Turkey, and Mexico) have started to promote the successful integration of their immigrants abroad, with the expectation that successfully integrated immigrants have more to offer their countries of origin. Until now, the substantial diaspora engagement measures seen most often at the national level have overshadowed activities at the regional and local level. But as a significant number of these countries undergo decentralization reforms and make efforts to strengthen local governance, the role of subnational authorities in supporting migrants begins to take on a new meaning.
This MPI Europe report represents the first attempt to investigate how the activities of origin countries’ regional and local institutions may improve the lives of emigrants to Member States of the European Union. It discusses relevant obstacles as well as opportunities for sending-country cities, regional political entities, and federated states in the design and implementation of policy measures to improve the trajectories of migrants. The report also underscores the importance of international cooperation at the subnational level—specifically city-to-city partnerships—focusing on well-established migration corridors in Europe with the assumption that historical links or geographic proximity can make cooperation easier.
KJ