PERCEPTIONS ABOUT IMMIGRANTS AND THEIR INTEGRATION IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

International migration is a topic of great interest on the agenda of researchers and policy makers because it is a global phenomenon that has strong effects on both the country of origin and the country of destination. In order to enhance the benefits of migration, a considerable role is played by the successful integration of immigrants. The aim of this paper is to investigate the perception of European Union citizens regarding the integration of immigrants, focusing on the differences of opinion and characteristics between natives, immigrants and the second generation of immigrants. We used the Kruskal-Wallis test and logistic regression and demonstrated that there are significant differences between the views of the three groups regarding the integration process and the important actors in this process. We also showed that, compared to the natives, immigrants are in a relatively vulnerable position on the labour market, although the level of education is not lower than that of national workers.