Mykonos, 09/10/2001 (Agence Europe) - The conference organised by the Committee of the Regions (CoR), last week in Mykonos in Greece, showed that the local authorities and more generally the regions can play a predominant part in the management of problems relating to immigration and the integration of foreigners in European Union countries. The questions relating to migration, which must be resolved at national level, end up incumbent upon regional authorities, it is noted by most of the speakers, members of the CoR, the Economic and Social Committee, the Council of Europe and the Greek Government. Those taking the floor felt that employment policy and the harmonious co-existence of cultural diversities may serve as a "bridge" towards better integration of these populations.
The specific role of the regions and communes was mainly stressed by Martin Haas of the Council of Europe, for whom integration is materialising at local level in the following areas: - policy on education in schools (programmes, teaching tools, organisation and structuring of classes); - labour legislation; - unemployment-insurance; - and the reintegration of the unemployed. He pointed out that the Council of Europe was in favour of the creation, in the communes, of an advisory chamber for foreigners. Such a chamber would above all be empowered to put requests to the municipal council in order (like his country, Switzerland, he said) to engage on the "road to cooperation and dialogue". Bernard Suaud, regional councillor for the Pays de Loire (France), listed the regional actions implemented in his country in the field of employment, such as financial advances and premiums for the creation or the extension of businesses, export premiums and premiums for the employment of executive staff, as well as many training programmes.
Panagiotis Rigas (CoR member) cited one example (drawn from his own experience as prefect of the Cyclades) of how thinking has developed at the level of local authorities. These authorities recently agreed to regularise the situation of a large number of immigrants (mainly Albanians) who had chosen the island of Mykonos as their land of asylum. He specified that out of the 100,000 inhabitants of the island, 7.5-8% were immigrants. Alberto Joao Jardim, president of the autonomous region of Madeira (and a member of the CoR), mainly insisted on the need for labour in the countries of Europe today. Athanasia Sykiotou-Androulaki, of the Greek Council for Refugees, insisted on the lack of staff foreseen in her country for processing asylum requests. There are said to be only four people for this task at national level as opposed to 600 in Germany, for example. She raised the problem of persons whose requests for legalisation of their situation were rejected and who remain in the country and work there illegally. Sukhdev Sharma, of the ESC, explained that it was necessary to make a distinction between asylum policy (which largely depends on international conventions) and economic migration (which is linked to the EU's economic and social policy). Gertraud Loewen of the DG for Employment and Social Affairs at the European Commission, recalled that, between 2000 and 2006, the national and regional authorities reserved EUR 8 billion under the European Social Fund to provide the necessary springboard for job creation, insisting in the field of services (improving the viability of small businesses).
During its meeting on Monday, the CoR welcomed the new strategy proposed by the European Commission on the right of citizens to move about and reside freely on the territory of the Member States and on the minimum norms for hosting asylum seekers. On the subject of free movement (see EUROPE of 24 May, p.7), Rapporteur Roberto Pella (EPP, Italian) considers that the involvement of local and regional authorities may contribute to effectively combating unfair administrative practices, which often make it compulsory for those concerned to present a whole series of documents which, in reality, are not required by the European legislation. The CoR adopted a draft opinion by Theodoros Georgakis (PES, Greece) on the proposal of directive establishing minimum standards for asylum seekers (see EUROPE of 4 April, p.6), which places emphasis on the leading role played by local authorities and regions, which will be entrusted with the task of establishing harmonious relations between the national communities and the host centres, in order to counter acts of racism and xenophobia against them and to facilitate the smooth unfolding of the procedure for processing the requests.