INTEGRATION OF REFUGEES IN EUROPE: EMPLOYMENT AS A PRIORITY

The European migration crisis of 2015-2016 showed the need not only to regulate (and above all limit) migratory flow, but also develop effective programs to integrate refugees and people in need of international protection as a target group. Considering the relatively high percentage of positive asylum decisions in the main recipient countries, we may assume that most of the beneficiaries will remain in Europe for a long time, If not forever. Given this, a new approach to integration is important, i.e. the priority of integration in the labour market as key condition for social integration. This approach is shared by all EU member states. Today, at the national level, there are various programs and schemes of integration, the primary objective of which is to speed up asylum-seeker and refugee access to the labour market. The main problems faced by refugees are language barrier, difficulties in recognizing diplomas and qualifications, and protracted access to employment. The Nordic countries and Germany have been the most successful in integrating this migrant category.