Beyzanur İnal GÖK *
When I arrived in Europe as a refugee, I didn’t only cross a border, I stepped into a new system of hopes, paperwork, and unspoken expectations. I believed education and effort would open doors, yet I soon discovered that my degree meant little, that employers hesitated, and that integration was something I had to prove rather than live.
Years later, now as a Spanish citizen, even after being accepted on paper, I still need to be accepted in society, especially in the labor market. That’s why the MIPEX 2025 Launch and Policy Forum in Brussels on 25 September 2025 is especially meaningful. They reflected the ongoing challenges and hopes that shape the lived experiences behind every integration policy.
Why Integration Matters
Hosted by the Migration Policy Group (MPG), the event gathered policymakers, researchers, civil-society leaders, migrant representatives, and journalists at the Press Club Brussels Europe and online. It was part of MPG’s New Europeans Initiative, supported by the EU’s Citizenship, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme which is also a reminder that inclusive policy is also a democratic commitment. Opening the forum, Isabelle Chopin, MPG’s Director, captured today’s reality with honesty:
“In the current climate of rising populist movements that support exclusive rather than inclusive policies, we need to maintain a steadfast commitment to integration policies, which is more important than ever. Integration is not just a technical exercise. It’s a political choice that shapes equality, social cohesion, and democratic trust.”
But beyond individual stories, integration defines the future of a country. It’s the social fabric that prevents polarization and resentment from taking root. Like a good minestrone — rich, varied, and nourishing inclusion blends different ingredients into something stronger together. The excluded don’t disappear just because they’re ignored; they remain part of the society’s reality. The real choice is whether a country decides to embrace that diversity and grow, or ignore it and fracture.
MIPEX 2025: A Mirror of Europe’s Promises and Policies on Inclusion
Magnus Brunner, EU Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration, called MIPEX “the gold standard for measuring migrant integration worldwide.” The new edition spans 56 countries and evaluates eight interconnected policy areas, labour market mobility, family reunification, education, political participation, permanent residence, access to nationality, anti-discrimination, and health, offering a comprehensive picture of how inclusion is built, or hindered, across societies. From access to jobs and schools to the right to participate and belong, MIPEX provides data that policymakers can no longer afford to ignore. He reminded the audience:
“The results show both progress and challenges: diverging integration outcomes across Europe and rising political tensions. That’s why evidence-based policies are more important than ever to foster inclusion, strengthen social cohesion, and unlock migrants’ contribution to Europe’s growth.”
As someone still navigating the Spanish job market, I felt seen. “Unlocking migrants’ contribution” is not a slogan. It’s what happens when your qualifications, language, and potential are recognised as assets, not doubts. When a country values what you value, your family, your job, your health, your education, your legal status, and supports you in rebuilding or maintaining them, your motivation to contribute to society multiplies. People naturally carry a sense of a deep gratitude and loyalty that compels us to give back when we are treated with fairness and respect. Humans are not different from one another in essence; what changes is the space we are given to thrive. When we build a true sense of “us as humanity,” granting immigrants these rights no longer feels like a privilege, it rather becomes a matter of natural justice and common sense, born from human nature itself.
New Findings: Progress and Persistent Barriers
Başak Yavçan, MPG’s Head of Research, presented MIPEX 2025 results that reveal both hope and hard truth:
Overall EU score: 54/100 – little movement since 2019 (+0.8).
Strengths: anti-discrimination (78), permanent residence (61), labour market (55).
Weaknesses: political participation (37), nationality (44), education (50).
Leaders: Sweden, Finland, Portugal.
I was not surprised that education and political participation scored low. I’ve lived that reality talented students whose studies go unrecognised, engaged migrants with no formal way to participate in the civic debates that affect them.
What also resonated strongly with me were some reflections shared during the forum. Participants noted that in the new EU Migration and Asylum Pact, integration receives little attention because it remains primarily a Member State competence. However, I believe that to equalize conditions and to promote shared responsibility, Member States should also have minimum common policies on integration. Solidarity between Member States is missing, and shared responsibility is very important.
Another important point raised was that legal certainty and family reunification should be the first priorities of any integration process. Once people feel safe, know their legal status, and can live with their families, they naturally focus on education, employment, and participation. That deeply aligns with my own journey. During my asylum process, it took 19 months before my application was resolved, a long period of uncertainty that drained my motivation and prevented me from planning for the future. During this period, I couldn’t get my qualifications recognised because, as an asylum applicant, I was still required to present apostilled documents I could not obtain. So, without clarity about my future, my energy went only to survival, not integration. These insights and my own experience confirm that integration doesn’t begin with language courses or job applications. It begins with security and stability. Once those are guaranteed, people can truly invest in their new society and give back with full commitment.
Finally, the discussion reminded everyone that integration is not a one-way progress chart. Even countries with high scores, like Portugal, can experience setbacks if continuous support and monitoring are lacking. To maintain progress, we must not only help lower-scoring countries improve but also ensure that the leaders in inclusion do not lose momentum.
Yet even amid stagnation, there were glimmers of progress: new multilingual school guidance, improved anti-discrimination efforts, small but real gains in labour-market access. These are the seeds of hope if Europe chooses to nurture them.
From Evidence to Action
The discussions that followed made one thing clear: data must lead to action.
In the panel “Raising Standards, Closing the Gaps,” voices from EU institutions and civil society debated how to bridge Europe’s uneven policies.
Anila Noor, herself a migrant-led organisation founder, reminded everyone that migrants are not only subjects of policy but partners in designing it. That idea hit home. Integration shouldn’t feel like being constantly examined, rather it should be co-created.
In the second panel, experts from Germany, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, and Spain shared lessons from national reforms. Hearing Sónia Pereira from Portugal speak about integration as partnership echoed my own conviction: progress happens when empathy meets structure.
Closing the forum, Thomas Huddleston and Başak Yavçan warned that integration must not become a selective or temporary policy, reserved only for crises like Ukraine or for highly skilled workers. It must be permanent, fair, and future-ready. They also pointed out that political participation remains the weakest area and without migrant voices in decision-making, inclusion can never be complete. That message stayed with me. Because as long as people like me are spoken about rather than with, integration will remain halfway.
Final words
Integration should not be a constant struggle that migrants must win; it should be a path supported by society. I don’t want integration to be framed as charity or confrontation. When policies recognise that migrants are already contributing teaching, studying, caring, innovating they stop treating us as “others” and start seeing us as equals in a common European story. We can no longer afford fragmented systems or temporary sympathy. Let’s build integration that doesn’t have to be fought for, because belonging should never feel like resistance. Let’s make integration a shared European responsibility, gentle in tone but firm in commitment, one that unlocks not just policies, but people.
