Integration of Immigrants in an Integrating Europe

Özet

Öz This paper will firstly focus on the question of why the issue of immigrant integration, which has been ignored as a distinct policy area that needs consideration at the European Union level until very recently, gained EU-level attention. Afterwards, the balance of power between the basic actors involved in the policy making of the EU, namely, the European Council, Council of Ministers, the European Commission, and the European Parliament, and how this balance affects the progress of developing common policies in the domain of immigrant integration will be analyzed. In the third part, the effect of the failure of the European Constitution's full ratification on the development of EU level integration policies and on the respective weights of the institutions will be covered. Lastly, recommendations for the development of more effective EU policies in terms of immigrant integration and for the greater involvement of the supranational bodies will be made.