Managing Migration in the European Welfare State

Abstract

Net migration into the EU has been substantial over the past decade: After peaking at over 1 million per year in the early 1990’s, net migration to the EU declined over the past decade but is now rising again, and was over 700,000 in 1999. The net legal immigration rate for the EU, 1990-98, was 2.2 per 1000 inhabitants, compared with 3 for the US and almost 0 for Japan. Illegal immigration is estimated to be 60 % higher in Europe, at about 500,000 per annum, than in the US. The population of the EU is 34% larger than that of the US. Refugees seeking asylum in the EU between 1989 and 1998 have also exceeded an average of 350,000 per annum, with over 20 % being granted entry. As a result of substantial net migration flows, the stock of foreign born in the population of a typical EU country has steadily increased – particularly in Germany – where the stock of foreign population grew by about 3 million to 7.3 million between 1985 and 1999. The percentage of the population with foreign nationality in EU