The problem

With brain gains, brain drains, and asylum seekers high on the political agenda, migration is a key issue for the European Union. However, despite continuous efforts since the 1970s, present migration figures lack the reliability, consistency and comparability that European policy-makers require. In addition, they do not meet new United Nations recommendations for international migration statistics.

Overview:

Parallel to forthcoming UN work on international migration, THESIM will explore these issues in EU Member States and candidate countries. It will:

• Compare definitions and ideas on migration and asylum
• Reveal barriers to reliability and comparability in present data
• Integrate data on various types of migration to improve knowledge of actual cross-border movement
• Describe bilateral and international work and assess the impact of poor reliability and comparability on policy implementation
• Recommend improvements after input from all stakeholders

Contribution to policy development:

THESIM will provide policy-makers with:

• A comprehensive record of definitions, regulations, practices and activity of migrants in Europe
• A consistent, harmonised and robust information platform on migrant activity
• An assessment of the impact of poor data on policy development
• Actionable recommendations on migration to policy-makers

Project deliverables

• National and synthetic reports on various aspects of migration data – Month 8
• Report on comparable asylum procedures across EU – Month 8
• Report on integration of asylum data in order to improve measurement of flows – Month 12       
• Final report with recommendations including feasibility study – September 2005

Dissemination

Due to the sensitive nature of the data, dissemination will be restricted to data providers and policy-makers using the Eurostat Working Paper series convention.

Technical information

Project acronym: THESIM
Project’s official full title: Towards Harmonised European Statistics of International Migration
Research priority: 2.5. Comparative research of factors underlying migration and refugee flows, including illegal immigration and trafficking in human beings
Specific webpage: http://www.uclouvain.be/7823.html
Proposal/contract no: 501667
Start date: 01/04/2004
Kick off meeting: Not available
Completion date: 30/08/2005
European Commission scientific officer: Giulia Amaducci (giulia.amaducci@ec.europa.eu)

Coordinator:
Name: Université catholique de Louvain
Abbreviated name: UCL
Address: Place de l'Université1
1348 Louvain-la-Neuve
Country: Belgium
Tel: + 32 10 47 2111
Fax: +32 10 47 2999
Website: http://www.ucl.ac.be

Partners

Name: Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute
Abbreviated name: NIDI
Country: The Netherlands

Name: Institut National d’Etudes Démographiques
Abbreviated name: INED
Country: France

Name: Centro per la Cooperazione Statistica Internazionale - Luigi Bodio
Abbreviated name: ICstat
Country: Italy

Name: Central European Forum for Migration Research
Abbreviated name: CEFMR
Country: Poland

Name: Estonian Interuniversity Population Research Centre
Abbreviated name: EKDK
Country: Estonia

Name: Estonian Interuniversity Population Research Centre
Abbreviated name: ICMPD
Country: Austria