| | Press Release | | CoR/18/044.en
Brussels, 16 March 2018 | | | Europe and its neighbours: the local perspective on migration and the Western Balkans | | EU Commissioners Avramopoulos and Hahn discuss managing migration and EU enlargement at #CoRplenary | | On 22 March Dimitris Avramopoulos, European Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, will discuss progress of the European Union's migration agenda and the integration of migrants in cities and regions, many of whom host refugees and new arrivals from the Middle East and North Africa. This debate kicks off the European Committee of the Regions' March plenary session in Brussels that will also focus on the EU's possible enlargement to the Western Balkans. Johannes Hahn, the EU's Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy & Enlargement Negotiation, will participate in the debate. | | Integrating migrants: EU must show more unity and give more support to local authorities (22 March) Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos, two-time mayor of Athens and former member of the CoR, will discuss the state of the EU migration agenda focusing specifically on the integration of migrants into communities and the labour market with CoR members. Laura Thompson, Deputy Director-General of the International Organisation for Migration, Anila Noor, a refugee and member of the European Migrant Advisory Board, and Elisabeth Bartke from the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry, will also join the debate on migration trends, experiences of refugees, and efforts to integrate new arrivals in Europe. The European Union's efforts to support cities and regions in receiving, hosting and managing migrants remains inadequate, an opinion drafted by Dimitrios Kalogeropoulos (EL/EPP) argues. He draws particular attention on the intense pressure on islands, and calls for exploring the possibility of "transferring responsibility for examining asylum applications from national to EU level". The CoR adopted an opinion on the European Agenda on Migration in 2015. Since then, it has adopted recommendations for reform of the common European asylum system, legal migration, and the integration of immigrants. The need for local reform: EU enlargement to the Western Balkans (22 March) European Commissioner Johannes Hahn will discuss progress of Western Balkans countries have made towards EU membership and the importance of local and regional government reform. These are also the principal themes of an opinion drafted by Franz Schausberger (AT/EPP), representative of Salzburg. The draft focuses on readying local and public administrations as "absolutely essential" for the success of integration. The opinion warns of "a shift towards more autocratic forms of government and centralisation" and says that the EU "must be stronger and more stable" as a result of enlargement to the Western Balkans. The future EU budget and cohesion policy (23 March) EU local leaders will discuss their position on the EU long-term budget after 2020 with the European Parliament's co-rapporteur, Jan Olbrycht (EPP/PL). The CoR is working to shape the future EU cohesion policy highlighting the 'cost of non-cohesion', with the opinion by Mieczysław Struk (PL/EPP), Marshal of Pomerania. The CoR is also focused on improving the impact of the European Social Fund – the EU's main instrument to support employment, education and social inclusion policies – with proposals included in the opinion prepared by the President of the Umbria Region and Chair of the CoR PES Group, Catiuscia Marini. How to support structural reforms in the context of the forthcoming Eurozone's reform will be the challenge addressed by the opinion prepared by Olga Zrihen (BE/PES), member of the Parliament of Wallonia. Other opinions to be adopted: Practical information Where: Paul Henri Spaak building – Hemicycle, European Parliament When: 22 March, 2.30pm-8pm – 23 March, 9am-1pm |
| | | The European Committee of the Regions The European Committee of the Regions is the EU's assembly of regional and local representatives from all 28 Member States. Created in 1994 following the signing of the Maastricht Treaty, its mission is to involve regional and local authorities in the EU's decision-making process and to inform them about EU policies. The European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission consult the Committee in policy areas affecting regions and cities. To sit on the European Committee of the Regions, all of its 350 members and 350 alternates must either hold an electoral mandate or be politically accountable to an elected assembly in their home regions and cities. Click here for more details on your national delegation. | | | | |
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