Migration is a reality in today’s European Union (EU). Approximately 20 million non-EU nationals reside in the EU, making up 4% of its total population, and further flows of migration will be a feature of the 21st century. It is therefore imperative that effective policies for the integration of third-country nationals are developed in the EU. In order to better understand how the EU institutions can work with Member States and other actors to respond to the challenges of integration, it is necessary to have a clearer understanding of the public opinion on the issue. In addition, it is crucial to understand how views differ across the Member States, as well as across socio-demographic characteristics and depend on existing interactions and ties with immigrants. This survey uses a new set of questions specifically tailored to measure the attitudes of Europeans towards the immigration and integration of non-EU immigrants. In particular it focuses on: • Europeans' general perceptions and knowledge about immigrants and the extent and nature of immigration; • Europeans' personal experiences with immigrants: ties with, and level of comfort in interacting with immigrants; • Europeans' general perceptions of the success in integrating immigrants, the factors which facilitate integration, the obstacles that may prevent it and the measures that would support it; • Europeans' opinions about the roles and responsibilities of various actors, the media and institutions with respect to the integration of immigrants.
Download the report here.