The European Agenda for the Integration of Third-Country Nationals (European Commission, 2011) highlights the most pressing challenges regarding migrant integration in the EU. In particular:
- Gaps in the educational achievement;
- Low employment levels of migrants, especially for migrant women;
- ‘Brain waste’ and high levels of ’over-qualification’;
- High risks of the social exclusion and poverty.
The existing evidence (e.g. OECD/European Union, 2015) underlines that third-country nationals continue to face high barriers in the education system than native-born. In another perspective, low levels of education not only cause refugees’ social exclusion and poverty, but they also create significant potential costs for Member State economies.