“Three Way Approach” to Meeting the Challenges of Migrant Incorporation in the European Union: Reflections from a Turkish Perspective

Abstract

This paper advocates the idea that the European Union’s “two way process” approach to migration and integration should boldly be replaced by the notion of a “three way” approach for the better incorporation of immigrants in the EU. The first part of the paper outlines the emergence of a “common” immigration and integration policy at the EU level, its main features and in particular the role of the European Commission in shaping this policy. The second part critically examines the place that is attributed to sending countries in efforts to draw up a “common” immigration and integration policy. Particular emphasis is laid on the ways the EU defines and frames the place and function of “sending countries” in its immigration policy. In the last section, the role that sending countries could play in the context of a “three way” approach to integration is explored against the background of the Turkish experience. In this section, the author makes various concrete suggestions in support of a “three way” approach whose aim is to assist Turkish immigrants’ integration into mainstream life within the EU.