“The EU and its Member States work hard to address migration across Europe, facing serious challenges to integrate the arrivals, particularly young people. But these challenges are not insurmountable,” says FRA Director Michael O’Flaherty. “Diverse examples highlight how smart and thoughtful policy decisions can go a long way towards overcoming obstacles. Policymakers at both national and EU level need to embrace such strategies to allow this generation become full members of our society.”
Based on interviews with over 160 refugees and 400 frontline workers, FRA’s ‘Integration of young refugees in the EU’ report identifies serious obstacles in existing migrant integration approaches for young people aged between 16 and 24. It also highlights good, local policy initiatives from each country. Examples include:
FRA calls on Member States to:
Background information
From 2015 to 2018, almost 2 million people received international protection in the EU. EU law is clear and EU Member States have a duty to protect refugees. EU funding to support their integration is also available. But the situation on the ground is very uneven across the Member States.
These problems get even worse when young refugees turn 18 and the support networks they previously relied on sometimes disappear overnight.
Notes to editors: