Migration And Integration
1) Strong, steady growth can be noted in human mobility. Europe, which is viewed as an area of stability and prosperity, will continue in coming years to be immensely attractive to migrants from less-favoured countries and to asylum seekers fleeing wars, persecution and human rights violations.
2) In a multicultural, multi-ethnic Europe, which is increasingly a refuge for asylum seekers and a destination for immigrants, governments are faced with a pressing challenge to guarantee that the fundamental values of our societies, as codified by the European Convention on Human Rights, including the respect of human rights, democracy and the rule of law, are shared by everyone living in Europe.
3) It is necessary to take up this challenge in order to be able to benefit fully from the opportunities that immigration offers Europe in terms of the supply of labour, intellectual input and cultural diversity.
4) The concept of integration aims at ensuring social cohesion through accommodation of diversity understood as a two-way process. Immigrants have to accept the laws and basic values of European societies and, on the other hand, host societies have to respect immigrants' dignity and distinct identity and to take them into account when elaborating domestic policies.
5) In accordance with its previous recommendations and resolutions, the Parliamentary Assembly reiterates the importance of implementing effective policies to ensure the full integration of foreigners residing lawfully in Council of Europe member states as part of an overall strategy covering all aspects of migration, including labour migration and illegal migration, and the efforts to combat trafficking in human beings and to combat terrorism.
6) In this connection, the Assembly refers to its Recommendation 1625 (2003) on policies for the integration of immigrants in Council of Europe member states and in particular reasserts the principle that immigrants should be able to...
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