Migration in Europe - Data and Background (EUROMIZ)

The subject of migration is increasingly considered a European issue, making it necessary to look beyond national borders. Numerous persons and institutions are involved in this process of Europeanisation and internationalisation, resulting in an increasing demand for easily accessible and user-friendly information on migration and integration in Europe. A basic compendium of this nature on the situation in the various European countries had not existed until now.

The project "Migration in Europe - Data and Background" therefore had the aim of presenting comparable data for the 1990s concerning key aspects of entry, structure and integration of migrants in Europe in a systematic way, including a critical discussion of methodology. For this purpose specific European countries were selected on the basis of the migration situation of the 1990s. In addition to data on Germany and the Netherlands as former recruitment countries, data from France and the United Kingdom were also included in the project. Austria's geographical proximity to south-eastern Europe, the high immigration figures in Switzerland as a non-EU and non-Schengen -country, and the example of Sweden for the full statistical registration of migration in the Scandinavian countries provided reasons for these countries to be included in the analysis. In addition, Italy was selected as a former sending country which has now itself become a country of immigration, as well as Poland and Hungary whose migration potential as future EU member states is of great interest.

The study focuses firstly on the collection and analysis of the current data on migration movements in Europe. Besides the general migration statistics and data on the number of foreigners in the respective countries, particular attention was paid to differentiating between the various forms of migration.

As the project aims to convey not only quantitative, but also legal and administrative aspects, it provides both a careful documentation of the data sources and the methods applied for collecting from the data as well as a user-oriented presentation of the results, which also includes a critical assessment of the methodology used in gathering the data. A documentation of the relevant legal and administrative procedures in the individual countries is also included.

The results of the project were first published in 2001 in a final report to the establishment that funded the project, the Foundation for Population, Migration and Environment.

Due to the topicality of the subject dealt with in the project, the data and descriptions of the final report have been extensively revised and updated. The latest results of the continued project of the same name have been published in the publication series Forum Migration.

Funding: Stiftung Bevölkerung, Migration und Umwelt (Foundation for Population, Migration and Environment)
Completed: June 2001
Researcher: Edda Currle
Publication: Forum Migration 8: Migration in Europa. Daten und Hintergründe. Edda Currle (author). Lucius & Lucius Verlag, Stuttgart 2004 (in German)