EU local and regional leaders also call for a
solidarity mechanism that effectively eases the
migration challenges faced by regions on the EU's
external borders.
The European Union's institutions should revise
proposals in its
New Pact on Migration and Asylum
in ways that provide greater support to regions on
the EU's borders, ensure better protection for the
vulnerable, and reduce the length of time spent at
reception centres on the EU's borders, the European
Committee of the Regions (CoR) says in a set of
recommendations adopted on 19 March.
The
recommendations
, if accepted by EU member states, the European
Parliament and the European Commission, would ease
border regions' access to funding and lighten the
responsibilities placed on them, and offer the
possibility – in crises – to accommodate irregular
migrants elsewhere in the EU while their applications
are processed. This proposal would reduce the use of
hotspots, and lift the 'first-country-of-entry'
principle used to determine the member state
responsible. Among measures focused on asylum-seekers
and migrants, the recommendations argue for greater
support for vulnerable groups and minors, object to a
Commission proposal to fingerprint children younger
than 12, call for greater medical and psychological
support in reception centres, and urge that children
and unaccompanied women be given priority in
resettlement procedures.
The opinion also supports a proposal in the new Pact on
Migration and Asylum, which the Commission presented in
September 2020, for a flexible mechanism for solidarity
between EU Member States. It is, however, sceptical
about the practicability of the concept of return
sponsorships. The mechanism would oblige EU Member
States to show solidarity, but they would be free to
choose from a variety of expressions of practical
solidarity.
Rapporteur
Antje Grotheer
(DE/PES), Vice-President of Bremen City Parliament,
said: "As European cities, municipalities and regions,
we must work for effective solutions based on
fundamental European values, fairness and shared
responsibility. This is why we call for a migration
solidarity mechanism that takes our views into account
and effectively relieves the burden on frontline
regions. What is more, the protection of the
fundamental rights of migrants and especially of
children and minors must be given priority. We need
faster procedures, carried out in accordance with human
rights. A Europe in which no one is left behind is not
about an à la carte project, but requires solidarity
and fairness."
Speaking at the CoR's plenary on 17 March, the European
Parliament's rapporteur on the asylum and migration
management regulation –
Tomas Tobé
(SV/EPP) – said solidarity should be "mandatory" but
with "flexible" options, adding that new ideas for
forms of solidarity would probably be needed.
He said: "The current European asylum system is flawed,
which heavily affects the regions and local areas,
especially in the frontline Member States. To ease this
pressure, we need to have a well-functioning migration
system. We need meaningful solidarity and a fair
sharing of responsibility across the Union -- but we
have to find pragmatic solutions, because we have been
discussing this basically since 2016 with very, very
slow progress. But no matter what we will agree on, we
need implementation, because if we had a functioning
implementation of the current system, we would not be
in the problems we have now. We have a lot of things to
do before we can come to any kind of political
conclusions on the Pact."
The CoR's opinion focuses principally on the reception
phase of migration, considering contentious issues in
the Commission's proposals ranging from the screening
and processing of applications, the criteria applied
for the evaluation of applications, the return of
migrants whose applications are rejected, the provision
of services, and the associated financial and
administrative burdens on border regions. The CoR also
welcomed another dimension of the Pact, the integration
of migrants in their new homes, describing the
Commission's 2021-2027 Action Plan on
Integration and Inclusion
as a "necessary complement" to the New Pact of
Migration and Asylum.
In 2019, the CoR launched a
Cities and Regions for the Integration of
Migration
initiative, with the support of the European
Commission. During its March 2021 plenary, the CoR and
the European Commission signed an
agreement
deepening their cooperation.
Speaking at the CoR plenary on 19 March,
Ylva Johansson
, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, focused
on integration, saying: “Local and regional authorities
are in the frontline to provide integration and other
services to newly arrived migrants as well as to
support their long-term inclusion. I am happy to
announce this partnership with the Committee of the
Regions, which will play a key role in supporting
cities and regions in the EU in their integration
work."
Contact:
Andrew Gardner
+32 473 943 981
andrew.gardner@cor.europa.eu