Using EU indicators of immigrant integration : final report for Directorate-General for Home Affairs

This report on the further development and use of EU immigrant integration indicators in policy debates is prepared at the request of the European Commission by the European Services Network (ESN) and the Migration Policy Group (MPG). It is based on research undertaken by an ad hoc research team lead by MPG including scholars from the Free University of Brussels (ULB) and the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) in Vienna. Part I of this report explores how three types of factors influence societal integration outcomes in four areas and as such can inform integration policies. The three types of factors concern personal characteristics of the immigrant population, the general context in the country and its specific migration and integration policies. The four areas are employment, education, social inclusion and active citizenship. In those areas, the European Union selected an initial number of indicators (the Zaragoza indictors) which are considered in this project. Overall, the analysis reconfirms the relevance and usefulness of the Zaragoza indicators. Part II reconfirms the availability, accessibility and reliability of the main sources for the calculation of the integration indicators considered within the report. They include the EU-Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS), EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC), OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) as well as Eurostat's migration statistics. These are well-established international and comparative data sources which build upon data that is gathered nationally, often by national statistical institutes. Part III presents different options reflecting the different ways in which indicators could be used to understand national contexts, evaluate the outcomes of policies, and use targets to improve integration. It takes existing national and EU indicators as starting point for reflection. Indicators can be used to describe the (constantly changing) situation in societies with citizens and residents with and without a migration background. Indicators can also be used to clarify the link between integration policies and societal outcomes, for example by monitoring the beneficiaries of policies and conducting robust impact evaluations. The report is explorative and descriptive in nature. Considering the advantages and limitations of international and comparative research, the results of this report represent a substantive contribution to the on-going debate and research on the development and use of integration indicators on which integration actors can build.