Abstract:

With the influence of the globalized world and the developments in the 21st century, the immigration phenomenon has reached an unprecedented dimension among the developed countries. It has become one of the main centres for migration from European countries, which have become the attractions center especially due to better living conditions and freedoms. Per their presence within a large and operating structure like the European Union (EU) has made these countries even more attractive in the eyes of developing or poor countries. However, the EU’s overall approach to immigration is different between countries and there are no legalized policies. This article focuses on the question of what factors affect the EU countries’ policies towards immigrants. The EU countries’ practices on immigrants have been studied in economic, security and ethnic and cultural aspects. As a result, the EU countries have seen to follow strict and persistent policies against immigrants due to economic reasons, as well as ethnic and cultural disputes and security concerns. For this reason, economic concerns and profits have been ignored. The research process has taken advantage of primary sources and various articles written in this field. The concept of immigration has been addressed with its dimensions that change over time. But when it comes to the concept of immigration, it is also necessary to define and study other concepts that are closely related to the fact of immigration, such as international immigration, irregular immigration or illegal immigration and refugees. The main reason for this situation is that there are no clear definitions understood; therefore, when starting the study, it will first be included in the definitions of the group of concepts related to immigration. With the impact of developments in a globalized world and the 21st century, the phenomenon of migration has reached a size that cannot be underestimated in the eyes of advanced states. In particular, European countries that have become a center of attraction due to better living conditions and freedoms have been one of the main centers of migration. Per, these countries that are available in a large and functioning structure as the European Union (EU) have become more attractive in the eyes of the country are developing or poor countries. However, the EU’s approach as a holistic to immigration issue has shown differences between countries and there are no policies have been adopted. In this article, it has been focused on the question of which factors influence the policies implemented by the EU countries towards immigrants. The practices of EU countries towards immigrants were examined with the dimension of economic, security and ethnic-cultural. Consequently, it has been seen that EU countries have implemented rigid and conservative policies against immigrants because of the ethnic-cultural conflicts and security concerns as well as they need immigrants for economic reasons. Because of these reasons, economic concerns and earnings have been ignored. In the research process, it has been benefited from the primary sources and several articles written in this field. The concept of migration is tackled with varying sizes in the time. However, when referring to the concept of migration, it must also identify and examine the other concepts such as international migration, irregular migration or illegal migration and refugees that are closely related to the phenomenon of migration. The main reason for this situation is the lack of exact definition agreed upon; thus when getting started to work, it will first be given to the definition of the concepts associated with migration. Key words: Migration Policies, European Union, International Migration, Security Concern, Labour Force.