Fóti, Klára

Following the influx of over three million asylum seekers into the European Union in the three-year period 2015–2017, Member States faced a number of challenges related to integrating the newly arrived into their country. This report explores the role of public services – specifically housing, social services, health and education services – in the social and economic integration of refugees and asylum seekers. It aims to identify the factors that hinder this process and the elements that contribute to successful integration.

Depopulation of rural areas and the concentration of employment and education opportunities in urban centres is a fact of modern life. What impact does this have on the quality of life of rural residents? Do they feel increasingly isolated, and what are the emerging trends? New research by Eurofound highlights differences in quality of life across the rural–urban divide and finds that while rural dwellers are more likely to have a sense of belonging in their community than urban residents, they are also more disconnected from the wider world.

Rural communities have distinctive patterns of economic development and social life. Previous research has highlighted a rural–urban divide across several dimensions of quality of life. For instance, living standards are lower on average in rural areas. This policy brief aims to draw policymakers’ attention to aspects of quality of life where rural dwellers are doing less well than the urban population, focusing on three topics: financial security, connectedness and life satisfaction.

Monday 18 December is International Migrants Day. In the following blog piece Eurofound Director Juan Menéndez-Valdés and Research Manager Klára Fóti look at new developments in migration policy and practice in the EU, and the need to build clear paths to the labour market for Europe’s new migrants.

The refugee crisis has posed significant challenges for Europe – we have not seen such a large-scale migration of people since the Second World War. The exodus from war-torn regions initially posed a humanitarian challenge for frontline countries such as Greece and Italy. However, the longer term challenge around the successful integration of new arrivals is an issue for Europe as a whole. Labour market integration of these new migrants is vital, not only for their social inclusion, but also for Europe’s economic and political cohesion.

In the past 10 years there has been a substantial increase in the number of for-profit private hospitals, while the number of public hospitals decreases. This has been heightened by the recent economic and financial crisis where hospital closures have created new opportunities for private providers.

This report expands on existing research on the labour market integration of refugees and asylum seekers as a response to the refugee crisis. It updates information on legislation and practical arrangements in the first half of 2016, examines labour market integration in the broader context of receiving asylum seekers and supporting both them and refugees, and explores the role of the social partners.

Freedom of movement across Member States is one of the core values of the European Union and is closely linked to European citizenship. There is, however, a heated debate in many of the host Member States about the impact of the rising inflow of mobile citizens on their public services.

This report highlights the key challenges facing the EU10 as a result of the high number of health professionals leaving to work abroad, focusing on specific problems and identifying topics for further research. A thorough analysis of the consequences is critical, since it appears the inflow of third-country nationals or return migration would not make up the shortfall caused by the outflow. However, as this is not equally true for all the countries, the report presents a differentiated picture between the countries concerned. The study draws on the results of two European research projects: Mobility of Health Professionals (MoHProf) and the Health Professional Mobility in the European Union Study (PROMeTHEUS).

This concept paper is an input to ongoing preparatory work for the new four-year work programme of Eurofound 2013–2016. It is based on the outcome of a joint working group between Eurofound and the European Institute for Public Administration (EIPA). In addition, the paper includes contributions and recommendation from a high-level expert seminar on relevant issues, which took place in Brussels on 21-22 June 2011.