Page 96 - valuing-diversity-guidance-for-labour-market-integration-of-migrants

Valuing diversity: guidance for labour market integration of migrants

Migration policy is generally supported by legislation that tends to be amended in
most countries to reflect the transposition of EU directives into the national
context. Some countries have used the incentive created by this process to
reform and modernise their integration systems (Belgium, Greece, Spain
Hungary, Austria, Romania). The United Kingdom and Ireland have a special
status under the EU treaties which allows them not to participate in the adoption
of the Council proposals in this area: they are not part of the Schengen area,
although they offer special cooperation in criminal and surveillance matters.
There have been institutional reforms in many countries to make asylum
applications quicker and more cost-efficient. Refugee offices were established in
a number of countries (Belgium, Ireland, Spain, Latvia, Hungary, Malta, Poland,
Portugal, Finland) and other forms of administrative and legal support were
adopted in others (Germany, Ireland, Greece, France, Austria). The countries
with the highest intake of refugees are Germany, Greece, France, Italy, Malta
and the United Kingdom. Austria and Sweden have had sharp increases in
refugee intake during the past two decades. Asylum policies have varied little
across Europe because of international legal harmonisation.
One of the most relevant innovations in the coordinating immigration and
integration activities was the establishment of OSS in several European
countries. These units, developed under a European Commission-funded project,
bring together all relevant services and ministries to aid the integration of both
asylum seekers and economic immigrants. In the OSS model, cases are handled
individually and guidance – mainly information and advice – is provided by socio-
cultural mediators. Mediators are professionals with inter-cultural training and
knowledge of the immigrant’s language. Frequently they have migrant
background themselves.
The OSS had a considerable degree of success in the countries where
implemented: Germany, Ireland, Greece, Spain, Italy, Portugal, with similar
practices documented in Luxembourg, Austria, Slovakia. They brought
advantages in financial and administrative terms, generating a sharp increase in
the efficacy and articulation of services, with good response rates and client
satisfaction. The OSS responds directly to the common agenda for integration
recommendations for cooperation between relevant stakeholders at national
level. In spite of its success, and although the OSS format is regarded as good
practice, its implementation is not straightforward, apparent from the fact that
only six countries have successfully implemented the model.

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