From Inclusion to Labour Market Management. Reconfiguring EU-Funded Migrant Integration in Denmark 2014-2027
Author
Markopoulos, Themistoklis
Term
4. semester
Education
Publication year
2026
Submitted on
2026-05-24
Pages
45
Abstract
This thesis examines how the policy logic of EU-funded migrant labour market integration in Denmark has been reconfigured between 2014–2020 and 2021–2027. Using Denmark as a single case study, it analyses EU and national programmes, European Commission communications, Danish policy papers, implementation and evaluation materials, and relevant labour market evidence through reflexive thematic analysis. The aim is to assess whether integration is framed less as social inclusion and more as a management tool to address labour and skills shortages amid demographic change and green and digital transitions. Findings indicate that social inclusion has not disappeared but is increasingly embedded in a managerial, results-oriented context in which participation, equality and cohesion are tied to skills development, activation, workforce resilience and labour market needs. In Denmark this shift is amplified by a work-first integration model and welfare conditionality; and because Denmark does not participate in AMIF, ESF/ESF+ is the key funding instrument. Overall, the thesis identifies a change in policy rationale: from a primary focus on inclusion to a combined logic that links inclusion with active labour market management.
Denne afhandling undersøger, hvordan den politiske logik bag EU-finansieret arbejdsmarkedsintegration af migranter i Danmark er blevet omkonfigureret mellem 2014–2020 og 2021–2027. Med Danmark som enkeltcase analyseres EU- og nationale politikprogrammer, Kommissionens kommunikation, danske policy-dokumenter, implementerings- og evalueringsmateriale samt relevante arbejdsmarkedsdata ved hjælp af refleksiv tematisk analyse. Formålet er at vurdere, om integration forstås mindre som social inklusion og mere som et styringsredskab til at afhjælpe arbejdskraft- og kompetencemangel, i lyset af demografiske ændringer og grønne og digitale omstillinger. Fundene peger på, at social inklusion ikke forsvinder, men i stigende grad rammesættes i en mere mål- og resultatstyrende kontekst, hvor deltagelse, lighed og sammenhæng kobles til opkvalificering, aktivering, arbejdsstyrkens robusthed og arbejdsmarkedets behov. I den danske kontekst forstærkes denne udvikling af et arbejdsførst-integrationsparadigme og velfærdsbetingelser, og fordi Danmark ikke deltager i AMIF, er ESF/ESF+ den centrale finansieringskilde. Overordnet peger afhandlingen på et skifte i begrundelsen for politikken: fra primært inklusion til en kombineret rationalitet, der både fremmer inklusion og aktiv arbejdsmarkedsforvaltning.
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