The collection of articles that give basic information concerning immigrants and ethnic minorities in the European Union and discusses their situation by means of some case studies from Spain, Finland (with comparisons to Sweden and Norway), Hungary, Slovakia and Romania. The articles have been written in the context of the Network of Excellence Reconciling Work and Welfare in Europe (RECWOWE), funded by the 6th Framework Programme (FP6), by Simo Mannila (National Institute for Health and Welfare, Finland), Hans-Peter van der Broek (University of Oviedo, Spain) and Vera Messing and Zsuzsanna Vidra (Hungarian Academy of Sciences).