PACE has called on European countries to show “political courage” in integrating refugees, pointing out that certain states – such as Germany or Sweden – have valuable experience in managing the integration of high numbers of refugees which they could share.
In a resolution, based on a report by Susanna Huovinen (Finland, SOC), PACE listed a number of “good practices” which had led to the successful integration of refugees.
The parliamentarians spelled out the optimal conditions for integration: “The Assembly recognises that while requiring respect for the basic values of the host society, integration of migrants means neither assimilation – whereby newcomers adopt the host societies’ culture, values and traditions in place of their own – nor a multi-culturalism of native-born and refugee or migrant communities living separate existences according to their original cultures, values and traditions.”