Committee of the Regions supports relocation system for refugees and calls for stronger control of borders

The European Committee of the Regions has given broad political backing to the European Commission's European Agenda for Migration. The crucial role of Europe’s local and regional authorities in addressing the immediate and long-term challenges posed by the arrival of large numbers of refugees and migrants needs to be more fully reflected in European Union policies, stressed Dimitris Avramopoulos, European Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, and Markku Markkula, President of the Committee of the Regions.

The President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, said in a recorded message to Members of the Committee of the Regions: "I am glad that you have chosen to use today to debate in particular the difficulties facing local and regional authorities on migration and integration of refugees. It is regional authorities and local communities that deal directly with the migrant influx to Europe. The Committee of the Regions can help by exchanging the best ideas on integration, as it is only communities and newcomers working together that can achieve successful integration. It is a two-way street."

Commissioner Avramopoulos said: "The refugee crisis today is a top priority not only for national governments, but also for regional and local authorities. It is local authorities who are at the real frontline today, and who provide both the immediate but also long-term response to new arrivals. From the very beginning, the Commission has adopted a comprehensive approach in its European Agenda on Migration, working not only across policy areas, but also across government levels. The time has come now to speed up the full implementation of all the agreed measures. That is why cooperation with the Committee of the regions is of particular importance."

The Committee of the Regions' rapporteur, François Decoster, commented: "Inevitably, we have had long, sometimes heated debates in the CoR about what policies the EU's institutions should pursue. But the process has also produced a very clear political consensus that the EU needs to be more involved in managing and responding to migration, and that we must establish a robust migration system that is fair to all. Across Europe, local and regional governments are given too little political say, too little funding and too little backing. That must change."

In its opinion, the Members called for reinforced management of Europe's borders and backed plans to review the EU's existing system of reviewing asylum applications, the 'Dublin regulation'. They also voted in favour of a permanent relocation mechanism so that newly arrived refugees are resettled across the EU.

"The next few months will be decisive, and with your support I am sure that we can define the path to a true immigration policy based on solidarity and responsibility," said the European Parliament’s co-rapporteur on migration, Cecilia Kyenge (PES / Italy). She also argued that the EU should "promote a bottom-up approach in which local authorities are fully involved in the process of planning and implementing interventions" relating to integration, adding: "It is up to them, in practice, to find a way to maintain social cohesion in their communities and to prevent social tensions and extremism."

President Markkula noted that "we face difficult challenges in managing the arrival of hundreds of thousands of people. However, as regional and local authorities, we are looking for solutions while tackling obstacles. Results cannot be achieved only with the good will of those working on the ground: we need flexibility in the existing European funds to allow local and regional authorities to perform to their best when it comes to welcoming migrants with dignity."