Tying in with the European agenda on migration, three draft opinions on the refugee crisis were adopted by the Committee of the Regions (CoR) at a meeting of its commission for citizenship, governance, institutional and external affairs (CIVEX) in Oviedo, Spain, on Thursday 22 September.
The first opinion, by Vincenzo Bianco (PES, Italy), is on the reform of the European common asylum system. The rapporteur stresses the need to replace the current system which sees asylum granted on a country-by-country basis. He calls for a comprehensive approach that lays the emphasis on solidarity among member states, regions and cities, for example, on management of centres for asylum seekers. He calls for stability over time in the financial aid to local and regional authorities.
The second opinion, from Olgierd Geblewicz (EPP, Poland), deals with legal migration. Here, too, the rapporteur calls for the local and reginal perspectives to be taken more into account in the Commission’s strategy. He lays emphasis on recognition of qualifications but warns, too, of the risk of a brain drain from third countries towards the EU.
The last of the three opinions, presented by Karl Vanlouwe (EA, Belgium), focuses on an action plan for the integration of third country nationals. As in the other two draft opinions, the rapporteur highlights the situation of local and regional authorities, on the front line of the refugee crisis. He emphasises civic integration through the spread of European standards and values.
The three opinions will be adopted during the plenary session of the CoR on 7 December.
Elsewhere, on the same day, the draft opinion by Peter Bossman (PES, Slovenia) on the partnership framework with third countries under the European agenda on migration was discussed. The rapporteur, here, stresses the need to tackle the roots of illegal migration and calls for local and regional authorities to be more closely involved in these partnerships. He underlines that a fair balance has to be found between selective migration and returning illegal migrants to their countries of origin. This report is expected to be put to the vote in the CoR plenary session on 8 or 9 February 2017.
Migration issues are central to European political debate, at local and regional as well as national levels. On 2 October, Hungary will hold a highly controversial referendum on the European plan for allocating quotas of refugees (see EUROPE 11627). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)