ABSTRACT
From 1955 to 1964, under German influence, the migration regime in Western Europe underwent a profound change. Previous research examining this transformation has focused on the role of Italy, supported by the Commission. In this chapter, I show how this transformation of the migration regime in Western Europe was the result of renewed German strength linked to an increased demand for labour in West Germany. Regime change corresponded to German preferences: excluding colonial populations, subordinating migration opening up to increased labour demand in host countries, introducing mechanisms for labour-force rotation, and extending the regime among the Six to the rest of Western Europe.
