Essential Notions Concerning the Integration of Refugees

Abstract

The latest wave of refugees, which peaked in 2015, raises the question of what we mean by integration, not only in terms of the rules adopted in the EU, but also in terms of the social inclusion of individual refugees and their families. This is because the concepts in the literature, in EU documents on asylum, and in individual sectoral policies (e.g. social, employment, housing, health and public education) are not necessarily harmonized. Therefore, the aim of the study is not only to review integration outcomes, but also to distinguish concepts related to migration, asylum, and refugee discourse, such as exclusion, disintegration, acculturation, and assimilation. Only clarification will bring us closer to selecting the most important social policy and asylum measures. This clarification is also urgent because a coherent integration policy must comply with both cultural diversity and non-discrimination requirements in the EU.