Contribute to the shaping of the legislative proposals and of the political priorities which are to be defined in the implementation of the programmes
Reiterate the CoR's commitment to fostering the area of freedom, security and justice, including fundamental rights, and to promoting EU citizenship
Ask the Commission and the Member States to involve LRA in the implementation of the programmes as appropriate, in particular in the development of the annual work programmes and in the evaluation of the programmes
The European Parliament, in its legislative resolution (TA(2014)0237 adopted at the plenary session of 13 March 2014, clearly supported the LRAs input to integration and promoted the principle of partnership, making it an underlying principle for the management and implementation of the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) in 2014-2020.
In relation to integration measures, the EP stresses that the Fund shall support actions which take place in the framework of consistent strategies, taking into account the integration needs of third-country nationals at local and/or regional level.
The EP highlights that the multiannual national programmes adopted by Member States should include "setting up and developing integration strategies, encompassing different aspects of the two-way dynamic process, to be implemented at national/local/regional level where appropriate, taking into account the integration needs of third-country nationals at local/regional level, addressing specific needs of different categories of migrants and developing effective partnerships between relevant stakeholders".
THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS
- welcomes the step to achieve a genuine area of freedom, security and justice through budgetary proposals recognising the importance of providing the necessary resources for the immigration, asylum and security budget;
- affirms the importance of the proposed changes for Local and Regional Authorities (LRA), having a direct impact on their duties and on the everyday life of people living in the European Union;
- stresses the importance of responding to security concerns, arising from an increased global mobility, within the context of the universal protection of fundamental rights and freedoms;
- welcomes the focus on flexibility and achieving results, highlighting that this requires good planning as well as participation and ownership and by all stakeholders. Therefore stresses the need to involve LRAs as well as other stakeholders such as specialised international organisations, civil society and the beneficiaries themselves from the planning stage, since they often implement the programmes and projects;
believes that access to funding is vastly improved through the proposed reforms. However, it encourages further development of mechanisms to distribute information on funding opportunities. In larger countries, LRAs could be used to organise regional and local consultations to allow participation of those organisations and stakeholders which operate further away from the main cities.