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2019 | Book

Introduction Read chapter Read first chapter

The EU’s Policy on the Integration of Migrants

A Case of Soft-Europeanization?

Author: Dr. Pierre Georges Van Wolleghem

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Book Series : Palgrave Studies in European Union Politics

Part of: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

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About this book

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.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter
Chapter 1. Introduction
Abstract
In a context characterised by increased influxes of migrants in the European Union (EU), little attention has been paid to the EU’s policy on the integration of third country nationals. This book’s introduction formulates the research puzzle that guides subsequent chapters: can there be Europeanization without an EU competence? It starts by clarifying a number of points in order to better frame the puzzle at hand: why integrating, who integrating, how to integrate, who has the competence to integrate and integrating into what are the questions it answers. The introduction then reviews the literature on integration in a multilevel polity and proposes a definition for the concept of soft-Europeanization to be applied throughout this book.
Pierre Georges Van Wolleghem
Chapter 2. Setting the Scene: History of a Competence and Analytical Framework
Abstract
This chapter describes how the most sovereign competence of all; immigration, became an EU competence with the completion of the single market and the creation of the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice. It draws from the historical development of the EU policy on immigration and integration to underline the importance of actors and their interactions within specific institutional settings. On this basis, the second part of this chapter elaborates on Scharpf’s actor-centred institutionalism and provides analytical and theoretical insights helpful to understand the argument this book develops throughout. Namely, it insists on the role of rules, the effects of unanimity decision-making, the relationship between principals and agents, and the nexus between politics and policies.
Pierre Georges Van Wolleghem
Chapter 3. Explaining the Genesis of a Policy
Abstract
Wedged between security concerns and a social inclusion paradigm, integration of migrants appeared on national political agendas in the 1980s. Chapter 3 shows how the issue emerged on the EU’s agenda in the 2000s. Through the application process tracing, it shows that the emergence of an EU integration policy results from the combination of three conditions: i) soft law as a necessary condition for the development of the policy; ii) the occurrence of three Presidencies of the Council with rather similar preferences within a relatively short time span as a sufficient condition; and iii) the role endorsed by the Commission as an intervening factor. It also shows how the Commission carved out a role for itself on integration through the creation of funding opportunities.
Pierre Georges Van Wolleghem
Chapter 4. The European Integration Fund: Principles, Decision-Making and Output
Abstract
Whilst the end of Chapter 3 starts the analysis of the European Integration Fund’s policy cycle with a focus on policy formulation, this chapter goes through the successive steps that led to the adoption of the fund. Using process tracing, it shows that the absence of a sound competence at EU level and the permanence of unanimity voting in the Council resulted in the creation of a fund that would grant great discretion to member states as to its spending. In other words, the decision making process emptied the fund of its most constraining clauses. By looking at the most disputed provision, this chapter also shows that most of the debate on the adoption of the fund revolved around the henceforth classic “who-gets-what” question.
Pierre Georges Van Wolleghem
Chapter 5. Why Implement Without a Tangible Threat? the Effect of a Soft Instrument on National Migrant Integration Policies
Abstract
This chapter shifts the focus to the implementation phase. It bridges the literature on soft law, compliance and policy instruments to examine the determinants of member states’ responses EU soft provisions. Using multilevel regression analysis, it shows that, when member states have no legal obligation to implement, the main driver of compliance with soft law lies with governments’ preferences. These may be constrained by civil society whilst the financial incentives prove incapable of dragging the preferences of member states towards the EU’s.
Pierre Georges Van Wolleghem
Chapter 6. Capacity or Preferences? Explaining the Implementation of the European Integration Fund
Abstract
This chapter looks at another aspect of implementation: the actual use of the fund. Three years after the closure of the implementation period, only 80% of the money available has been used by EU member states. This chapter draws from the literature on structural funds and compliance in order to delve into the determinants of this implementation gap. Using multilevel regression analysis, it tests the effect of capacity against preferences in a comparative fashion. Strong support is found for capacity factors and none for preferences. Even so, not all aspects of capacity matter.
Pierre Georges Van Wolleghem
Chapter 7. Conclusion: EU Integration Policy or EU Policy on Integration?
Abstract
Taking stock of the evidence gathered and processed throughout the book’s five empirical chapters, the conclusion answers the research question in the negative: if there may be a stammering process of Europeanization under way, talking of Europeanized integration policies as of yet is hardly sustainable. The conclusion also points out the contribution this book makes to the literature, its limits and potential research paths for students wishing to improve knowledge relating to the EU policy on integration.
Pierre Georges Van Wolleghem
Backmatter
Metadata
Title
The EU’s Policy on the Integration of Migrants
Author
Dr. Pierre Georges Van Wolleghem
Copyright Year
2019
Electronic ISBN
978-3-319-97682-2
Print ISBN
978-3-319-97681-5
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97682-2