EN KONTINENT I KRIS – MIGRATION, INTEGRATION OCH INKLUDERING- En jämförande studie av kommissionens handlingsplaner för integration i Europa

Sammanfattning: When migration to a country increases, the integration of the migrants becomes extra important for the host country’s society, economy and culture. In the last decade, Europe has faced several crises, such as the refugee crisis and the covid-19 pandemic, which has affected both migration and integration policy. The challenges that have characterized European society in recent years makes it interesting to study how the measures highlighted by the European Commission to integrate migrants has developed. Therefore, the paper aims to compare the Commission’s action plans for integration published in 2016 and 2020 based on the threat theory and the contact theory to see how both perspectives can contribute to understanding the differences between the years and which theory is best suited to understand the Commission’s current visions of integration. The qualitative content analysis showed that both theories can contribute to understanding differences between the action plans. Simultaneously, intercultural contact is described as an important integration tool that spans multiple policy areas, suggesting that it is better suited to explain the Commission’s current visions of integration. Understanding the development of the European Commission’s integration work is important as it is of great influence for the member states.