Factsheet over het advies 

outline the Committee of the Regions' as well as local and regional authorities' position on certain elements of the consultation;
bring forward any experiences, or data existing at local and regional level, which could be helpful to the European Commission (and the co-legislators) in determining and then choosing the policy option for the Green Paper's follow up;
raise awareness on subsidiarity and proportionality related issues, which might be relevant in the course of determining and choosing the follow-up policy options; in this context future legislative or policy proposals could warrant the eventual drawing up of a "revised opinion" under rule 52 par. 2 of the RoP;

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS



- points out that the need to tackle the specific issue of family reunification coincides with the attention given to a new European agenda for integration (CdR 199/2011), and a European culture of multilevel governance (CdR 273/2011) which urges the Committee of the Regions to take action;

- notes that the Green Paper indicates that in some cases the application of the directive is used as a deterrent and points out that the arrangements for family reunification cannot be viewed as a means to curb migration flows; the specific aims of reunification are to improve the integration of legal migrants and to comply with the right to a family;

- stresses that people's right to live with their family, as well as the right and the duty to provide for, educate and bring up their children and thus to have their children with them, are fundamental rights and duties, independent of citizenship; points out that this is recognised in many instances of national and international case law which agree on this point;

- points out that the States must act with due regard for the principles of proportionality and subsidiarity, in order to give the regions and local communities a stronger role in the application of integration policy and to provide them with a stable, legally sound frame of reference;

- the Committee calls for a stronger local-level role in multilevel governance, a crucial condition for a consistent immigration policy which complies with fundamental rights and is capable of promoting the wellbeing of host communities and immigrants.