EU cities want bigger say in immigration debate

euobserver.com

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – Some 130 major cities in Europe have called on the EU institutions to give local municipal authorities a bigger say in the immigration debate and recognise the economic benefits of migration.

Since the impact of EU and national policies regarding migration is mostly felt in urban areas, local authorities should have a “clearly defined role as partners” for developing and monitoring the implementation of these strategies, Eurocities, a network of 130 European cities, says in a policy paper.

The document comes in response to the “Stockholm Programme” tabled by the European Commission earlier this summer – a common framework for the coming five years on how member states should deal with immigration, asylum and integration. The bloc’s justice and home affairs ministers have yet to agree on the plan later this autumn, with disagreements between EU member states are likely to alter some of the proposals.

Eurocities stressed that the debate on immigration needs to move beyond the security aspects and “recognise the benefits of migration.”

“If the current demographic and migration trends persist, by the mid-21st century, the EU will have lost some 65 million inhabitants. This will have effects in particular on the workforce: The ratio of persons of working age to persons of non-working age will have risen from four to two to more than four to three,” Eurocities argued, citing a 2007 commission EU social indicators report.

Migrants from EU countries also need to be included in the community aid schemes, for instance, for language training or access to services.

“The current restrictions on integration support represent a considerable risk that mobile EU citizens fall between the cracks of the European framework for integration and the mainstream support systems in member states,” Eurocities points out. Read full article…

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