The Member State ministers responsible for integration issues, European Union delegations and European Commission Vice-President Franco Frattini agreed at their Informal Meeting in Potsdam, chaired by Federal Minister of the Interior Wolfgang Schäuble, to work with each other more closely on integration issues. The ministers responsible for intercultural dialogue also agreed to greater cooperation in this field.
Federal Minister Schäuble said the meeting had produced positive results:
"Migration and integration have become an everyday experience in our globalized world. We will continue to face the phenomenon of constant and growing migration movements and related issues for the long term. If migration is not to threaten tolerance within our society and the stability of our liberal order, then we must successfully integrate those who wish to live here. This is a major task not only for policy-makers, but for liberal societies as a whole. Even if it remains primarily a national responsibility, we increasingly find ourselves confronted with these issues at European level as well. The countries of the European Union largely face the same problems. The migration we are currently experiencing in Europe often involves movement across enormous cultural divides, often without a specific destination. Integration policy must ensure that the diversity which migration brings with it does not lead to a splintering of society. We must be careful not to take hasty action which only seems to provide solutions. We need to be pragmatic, realistic, rational and determined in pursuit of our goal. The European process will help us in this effort.
Our first exchange concerning intercultural dialogue was extremely productive.
Many Member States have begun a dialogue with representatives of Muslim communities in particular. It was clear that we are facing similar challenges all over Europe. People of diverse backgrounds, faiths and cultures are living side by side in densely populated areas, and it is important to enhance co-existence among them, whether at school, at work or on the street."
The summary drawn up by the German Presidency is to serve as the basis for the conclusions of the next Council of Justice and Home Affairs Ministers in Luxembourg on 12 – 13 June.
The ministers agreed that successful integration policy is a key prerequisite for future immigration. Integration is a two-way process. On the one hand, integration depends on immigrants' willingness to participate and to make their home in the host society. Immigrants need to make an effort to become integrated. Above all, they need to learn the language of their adopted country and accept its value system and way of life. On the other hand, integration needs a welcoming society in order to support immigrants in this process and promote their access to, and participation in, education, the labour market, public services, political institutions and the media, all of which underscore the need for a shared system of values, which is the ultimate guarantee of civil liberties in modern society.
In the field of immigrant integration, EEU Member States cooperate by exchanging information and experience. For this purpose, they established an expert group of National Contact Points on Integration. The Ministers agreed to expand the role of the NCPI. The work of the National Contact Points on Integration is to focus on issues such as achieving full participation and equal opportunities for immigrants, especially of the second and third generation, and raising the host societies' awareness and acceptance of the fact that immigration is a permanent phenomenon. The NCPI were requested:
For the first time, ministers responsible for matters related to intercultural dialogue exchanged their views on the subject. Their contributions showed that there is a broad spectrum of approaches to intercultural dialogue in Europe, but that many Member States are facing similar challenges. So far, the scope of intercultural dialogue has been limited mostly to the national level.
Find more information on the website of the federal ministry of the interior and in the meetings calendar.
