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This article examines the level of development of integration policies in the European Economic Area and the attempts to compare and standardize them. We discuss national integration models and policies based on the results of the Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX) and OECD/EU indicators of integration. Indicating the possible pitfalls of measuring and comparing integration policies, the results of researches into labour mobility and access to citizenship are examined. This comparative study shows that the indicators of immigrant integration are often at odds with the development level of integration policies, which results in their inadequate implementation in practice. Furthermore, EU countries face different challenges in the enactment of integration policies which spring from diverse (im)migration experiences, the scope of past migrations, and recent migratory flows. This is why integration policies should be re‐indexed, taking into consideration the particularities of (im)migration flows, the size of the immigrant population and other relevant factors.

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In this article, we explore ethnic group boundaries within a context of contemporary Istria. It is maintained that the local population of Istria has a strong regional identity and that boundaries between the members of local Croat majority and the researched minority and immigrant groups are characterised by blurred group boundaries. It is argued that these people are engaged in multiple forms of boundary making which challenge the ethno-national understanding of entitlement to the in-group membership in a local imagined community. Among other things, it is indicated in the article that ethnic minority groups, such as Italians in Istria, who make a large effort in boundary making to maintain their cultural heritage, are preferred by the ethnic majority as full-fledged members of the local community than certain groups of co-ethnics. The study is based on extensive qualitative data material gathered in Croatia in the period 2009–2013. The ethnographic material comprises 45 interviews with domicile ethnic Croats, domicile members of the Italian minority and Bosnian–Herzegovinian migrants residing in Croatia and Istria.

Migrations undertaken by highly skilled persons assume an important position in knowledge societies, especially in large global cities where there is a need for their work. This article is based on qualitative research conducted in Brussels in 2014, working with a sample (N=20) of highly skilled migrants from Southeast Europe. Through applying Bosswick and Heckmann's (2006) analytical framework, this research examines the influence of European Union citizenship on the system and social dimension to the integration of the researched group. Under system integration, the gaining and enacting of citizenship rights receives special attention, while with social integration, the identificational dimension to integration is in focus. The research results demonstrated that the possession of EU citizenship influences the integration outcome – to a greater extent in the case of system integration, and to a lesser extent with social integration. Given that the integration of highly skilled migrants in Brussels occurs within "international strata", rather than a national culture framework, the classic integration model does not function in Brussels. In the case of the integration of highly skilled migrants in a global city such as Brussels, it was shown that migrants do not attach an importance to (national) citizenship as long as they have EU citizenship. Highly skilled migrants from third countries do attach an importance to national citizenship so long as they do not have a work permit with which they are regulating their stay and provided that they plan to settle for a long time in Belgium.