The EU’s Policy on the Integration of Migrants A Case of Soft-Europeanization?

This book addresses a timely, yet largely overlooked, issue in political science: the integration of migrants in a multilevel polity. It shows how the way in which the policy emerged at EU level affected policy outputs adopted thereafter throughout the policy cycle.

"Not only does this monograph provide an analytic account of the EU’s policy on the integration of migrants, it also tells us what the consequences of this policy are for Europeanization, multi-level policymaking and EU governance. A great one-stop-shop book for sociologists, political scientists, migration policy experts and those who want to understand EU governance from a fascinating angle."—Claudio M. Radaelli, Director, Centre for European Governance, Exeter, UK "Theory-driven, rich in detail and rigorous, this book is the most systematic analysis of the immigrant integration policy of the European Union, a significant contribution to the study of a policy of undeniable importance. "—Fabio Franchino, Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy " Amongst the many publications on international migration and migrant integration in Europe, this book is a unique example of policy analysis of that complex field. "—Rinus Penninx, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
This book addresses a timely, yet largely overlooked, issue in political science: the integration of migrants in a multilevel polity. In a context characterised by the increasing salience of migration-related questions, and despite the gradual construction of a European Union immigration policy over the past two decades, no competence was ever created on integration matters. The emergence of a consistent ensemble of soft instruments in this policy realm in the 2000s unveiled an original pattern of EU policy formation. Can there be Europeanization without an EU competence? That is the question this original piece of research tackles. It shows how the way in which the policy emerged at EU level affected policy outputs adopted thereafter throughout the policy cycle. Mixing qualitative and quantitative methods, it explains the development of the EU integration policy and examines its main policy device, the European Integration Fund, from negotiation to implementation. Pierre Georges Van Wolleghem is Honorary Fellow at the Centre for European Governance, University of Exeter, UK. He currently works as a researcher for Fondazione ISMU and collaborates with various universities. Dr. Van Wolleghem’s research focuses on Europeanization and migration policies.