In 2015, when hundreds of thousands of Syrians fled on the arduous journey dreaming of reaching a safe and prosperous haven in Europe, many did not realise that this dream would in fact remain illusionary and unfulfilled.

After escaping war in their home country, they not only faced the risk of death in the Mediterranean but also came across walls erected against them in Hungary, ‘forbidden cities’ where refugees are not welcome in Germany while being greeted by ‘Burn Them Alive!’ slogans by xenophobic groups on the Greek island of Lesbos and similar far-right groups in other countries.

On 7 May, a Syrian refugee was stabbed in an allegedly racially-motivated attack in Edinburgh, UK.

Although the UN recently launched an action plan on the integration of refugees in the job market, research shows that 80 percent of Syrian refugees in Europe remain unemployed.

According to the Economist, whereas it takes six years for the refugees’ employment rates to exceed natives in the United States, it takes more than 15 years in Germany, which is the highest performer in terms of refugee labour force integration in Europe.

The EU Action Plan on the integration of third country nationals adopted in 2016 tries to address some of the challenges such as education, employment, pre-departure and pre-arrival measures and access to basic services yet much more is required in order to accelerate both the economic dimension and the cultural and social aspects of the multi-faceted integration process of Syrian refugees in Europe.

A recent report by the Brussels-based think European Foundation for Democracy highlights that the integration process of Syrian refugees would not be successful in the absence of long-term policies aimed at socio-economic and cultural integration.