Commissioner Johansson was speaking on her second working day in her
post at a gathering of around 400 local and regional politicians, "Go Local: Supporting regions, cities and rural areas in
migrants' integration". The conference, co-organised by the European Committee of the
Regions and European Commission, aims to promote a strong element of
local and regional social investment in the EU's approach to migration.
The European Committee of the Regions has been calling, in particular,
for support for towns and villages, which, across the EU, are home to
about one-third of refugees and immigrants.
Commissioner Johansson stated that: "As European Commissioner, I want
to emphasise that one of our long-term goals is building a cohesive
society, where each member feels respected and safe. That is why good
integration will be one of my priorities. Integration is based on
community and communities are built from the bottom up. That is why Go
Local is such an important initiative and event." Commissioner
Johansson also announced the award of new Emergency Assistance measures
to Italy and Spain in support of their efforts to integrate recently
arrived people.
The European Commission has called for a tripling in the principal fund
through which integration work is supported – currently named the
Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund – from €3.1 billion in 2014-20
to €10.4 billion. The EU intends to channel most long-term funding for
social inclusion through the future European Social Fund Plus (ESF+).
Organisation of the conference was led by the European Commission's
Directorate-General for Home Affairs and the European Committee of the
Regions, whose President,
Karl-Heinz Lambertz
(BE/PES), in April 2019 launched the
Cities and Regions for Integration initiative
together with the then EU Commissioner Dimitrios Avramopoulos.
President Lambertz said, "We need to end scaremongering, do away with
divisive, populist rhetoric and work with pragmatism, fairness and
solidarity. Over the past decade, cities and towns across Europe have
welcomed and supported refugees during a time of austerity. The
Integration Initiative continues to grow, showing that villages, towns,
cities and regions are helping integrate newcomers every day, and, in
the process, creating inclusive communities. The Commissioner's
presence today, to engage with regions and cities so early on in her
tenure, demonstrates that Europe is not only listening, but willing to
act locally".
Other speakers included
Virginio Merola
(IT/PES), mayor of Bologna and member of the European Committee of the
Regions, Annika Annerby Jansson, President of the
Skåne region in Sweden; Rutger Groot Wassink, Deputy
Mayor of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, responsible for social affairs,
democratisation, and diversity; and Oriol Amorós,
secretary for equality, migration and citizenship in the Catalan
government in Spain.
The conference included workshops on many of the areas of life in which
local and regional governments are typically particularly important –
housing, health, education, youth work, and sport – as well as areas
where the European Commission offers its expertise to cities and
regions, such as data, local strategies, and innovative financial
instruments.
The EU currently offers support for integration projects through the
Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, the European Social Fund, the
European Fund for Regional Development, the European Agricultural Fund
for Rural Development, and Erasmus+.
Contact:
Andrew Gardner
Tel. +32 473 843 981
andrew.gardner@cor.europa.eu