Improving the quality and availability of migration statistics in Europe: - reviewing concepts and definitions to develop EU legislation for migration statistics

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Improving the quality and availability of
migration statistics in Europe- reviewing
concepts and definitions to develop EU
legislation for migration statistics

• David Thorogood
• Eurostat

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Content

• EU legislation for migration statistics
• What are the effects of EU statistical
  legislation?
• Progress and future plans
• Implementing the legislation
• Concepts and definitions
• Many questions
• Conclusions
• Lessons
• Ideas for the future

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Purpose of an EU regulation for migration
statistics

• Most important areas of European statistics have
  a clear legal base in EU law
• Defines in detail
• the data to be supplied to Eurostat
• technical and quality standards
• timing, reference periods, formats for data
  transmission
• metadata
• methods and data sources (usually, but not for
  migration)
• Regulation
• directly applicable
• legally binding on all EU Member States

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Principles followed

• Freedom to use any appropriate data sources
• Harmonised statistical definitions
• UN Recommendations
• EU legislation on immigration, asylum, border
  controls
• Emphasis on metadata
• Some flexibility to update definitions in future
• Covers all existing migration-related statistics
• Migration flows, foreign population stocks,
  asylum, acquisition of citizenship, measures
  against unauthorised entry and stay, residence
  permits

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Current situation and future plans

• First drafts for informal discussion August
  2003
• Commission proposal for legislation September
  2005
• Review / amendment / voting
• European Parliament
• Council of the EU
• Votes expected in the coming months
• Coming into force on 2007?
• Implementation
• Further legal work
• Technical guidelines
• Practical assistance projects

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Definitions and concepts detailed discussion
and questioning

• Making something a legal obligation concentrates
  the mind
• What do the UN Recommendations really mean?
• Are they appropriate, feasible, necessary?
• nationally, in the EU, globally
• Can the definitions be applied?
• by all Member States
• using all data sources

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Example Implementing a 12-month stay
definition of migration

• Why 12 months?
• National systems 3-6 months
• EU visas/residence permits 3 months
• Actual duration of stay, intended/expected stay,
  legally authorised stay?
• Is intention good enough?
• Which is the reference year?
• Year of arrival or year when completes 12 months
• Time limit for data supply
• Can only confirm if a 12-month migrant 12 months
  after the end of the reference year

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Example Implementing a 12-month stay
definition of migration (2)

• Definitions based on duration of stay
• appropriate or useful?
• unwillingness to accept that citizens of a
  country or persons born in the country could ever
  be described as migrants
• some users prefer to classify cross-border
  movements by reason for entry or by the rights
  granted to the person (employment etc.)
• feasible (for all migrants)?
• in a European context of open internal borders,
  ongoing removal of restrictions on EU citizens
  rights to work and establish residence,
  increasing cross-border commuting, retirement and
  ownership of second residences less
  administrative data

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Conclusions

• Definitions in the legislation broadly follow the
  UN Recommendations
• The 12-month duration of stay definition
• remains an important and useful measure
• serves well needs of population statisticians
• but covers only some of the groups who could
  legitimately be counted as migrants
• Closely documenting and rigorously applying
  definitions rapidly illustrates any problems or
  inconsistencies
• Certain flows and stocks are becoming even harder
  to measure
• emigration
• intra-EU flows
• flows and stocks of nationals and other EU
  citizens

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Thank you
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