Multiculturalism and ethnic minorities in Europe

Abstract

In the past year immigration and asylum, multiculturalism and race relations have been high up the political agenda in Germany and the UK. Both countries are home to a diverse range of ethnic communities, religions, cultures and languages. These communities enrich our societies and are a source of strength and innovation. But multiculturalism also presents challenges. How do we give people the rights and status they require to integrate into society, while maintaining social cohesion? How can we ensure our institutions do not discriminate against minority ethnic groups? How should our societies combat the fears and anxieties amongst our indigenous populations about levels of immigration? What does it mean to be British or German? <br /> The UK and Germany have traditionally taken different approaches to meeting these challenges. But it is important for us to co-operate increasingly closely, both bilaterally and within the EU. These issues have become all the more pertinent, in the light both of EU enlargement, which will extend freedom of movement to hundreds of thousands more people; and of demographic change throughout the EU, which is leading to increasing willingness on the part of governments to open up their labour markets to immigrants. <br /> The British Embassy Berlin and the Center for European Integration, Bonn (ZEI) addressed these questions at a seminar held in Berlin on 1 December 2000. We focused particularly on what governments can and should do to combat racism and promote integration; on the lessons the UK and Germany can learn from one another; and on the role of the European Union and the impact of increasing numbers of ethnic minorities and foreigners in the EU on European identity. <br /> The contributions to this seminar are reproduced here, with the aim of contributing to a deeper debate, of vital importance to Europe's future.