16.5.2006   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 115/47

1.1

welcomes the Commission's proposal for the establishment of a framework programme on Solidarity and the Management of Migration Flows for the period 2007-2013;

1.2

recognises the significance and scope of global migration and its importance for diversity and development, particularly in the local community. The CoR fully endorses the importance of coordinating immigration, asylum and integration policy within the European Union. This is even more important now in the enlarged Community;

1.3

recognises the importance of a Community driven, comprehensive and sustainable policy for the management of the migratory flows, including security at the frontiers, efficient protection of persons in need of international protection, effective repatriation of third country nationals, illegally residing on the European soil, integration of legal migrants in the economic, social, cultural and political life;

1.4

stresses that the national level is responsible for designing and implementing legislation, while the task of facilitating immigrant reception, settlement and integration falls mainly to the regional and local level. The CoR would therefore particularly stress the important role of the local and regional authorities, whose responsibilities include planning, housing, education and the labour market, which impact directly on integration and can promote social cohesion, social integration and sustainable societies;

1.5

stresses that local and regional authorities hope to form a key link in the chain of solidarity and help to eradicate the causes of migration by strengthening measures for financial cooperation and by developing a common strategy for promoting cross-border regional and nation cooperation in the field of Management of Migration Flows. Their powers in the areas of migration, immigration and integration, as well as their position as operators or owners of infrastructures, place these authorities at the forefront of processes to prevent, finance and manage migration flows;

1.6

emphasises that in many parts of the European Union, tax revenues are collected at national level, while the economic burden of dealing with immigration-related exclusion falls on the local level. Lack of consultation between the different levels can be an obstacle to best use of economic resources. That type of burden sharing could complement the exercise at Union level and give positive results in the field;

1.7

1.8

1.9

stresses that immigration is not sufficient to cover EU labour shortages in the long term, and would refer to its opinion on the contribution of older people to the labour market;

1.10

there is an urgent need for strategies to deal with the large group of immigrants that are outside the labour market, for economic, social and political reasons;

1.11

calls for measures in order to address effectively the issue that a large number of working persons have entered and live in the EU illegally. Measures must be considered and mechanisms introduced to enable immigrants in breach of current immigration legislation to legalise their position without delay, especially if their illegal stay is due to administrative shortages or special geopolitical circumstances, faced by Member States. Those measures must be of exceptional nature, not repetitive, and combined with a) decent standards of reception of the interested persons, b) establishment of the idea that illegal immigration is not tolerated, c) strict fight against trafficking in human beings and social exclusion d) adoption of effective structures and policies in support of legal labour migration;

1.12

stresses that the individual immigrant's need to work to support himself must be acknowledged and encouraged. In addition to the economic aspects, entrepreneurship and small businesses contribute to positive social development. The opportunity to own and run a company impacts on integration and it should therefore be given increased public support;

1.13

welcomes the increasing awareness within the EU of immigrants' creativity and entrepreneurship. The growth of entrepreneurship and new businesses is of crucial importance to successful integration processes and represents an important contribution towards achieving the Lisbon Strategy;

1.14

stresses the importance of the work of non-governmental organisations in close cooperation with the local and regional authorities and supports their programmes to speed up migration related policies and actions (such as integration into the political and social life of the country etc.);

1.15

welcomes the Decision establishing the European Refugees Fund, and especially the provision on the integration of the targeted populations. The CoR reminds that the vast majority of the actions proposed as eligible both, for the improvement of the reception conditions and for the integration of refugees, fall in the field of intervention of the regional and local authorities;

1.16

welcomes the Decision establishing the External Borders Fund and recalls the fact that some regions of Europe suffer collateral losses, in terms of development and social cohesion, for being at the frontiers of the Union. That reality should be reflected in the decision;

1.17

notes that the EU's failure on the integration front is partly due to the fact that the local and regional authorities have not been involved in policy framing. The local and regional authorities are the tier of government that is closest to citizens, but the consequences of implementation at local level have most often been disregarded and not always taken into consideration;

1.18

recalls that integration issues must be included in all policy areas if social cohesion is to be achieved. The Community's immigration and integration policy must be in harmony with the EU's more overarching objectives in social policy, economic policy, and foreign and development policy, and comply with such fundamental European values as equal opportunities, human rights, human dignity, tolerance, respect for diversity, measures to combat discrimination, and promotion of increased participation in the community;

1.19

would highlight the fact that integration is a duty for society as a whole, requiring input from both immigrants and the local population in order to achieve sustainable social cohesion and growth;

1.20

acknowledges that, while labour market issues are of crucial importance for the integration of immigrants, they cannot be taken out of context since the degree of integration also depends on a number of other factors, such as social background, education and language skills, and participation in the life of the community. The successful integration of immigrants is a step towards achieving a society in which everyone has a stake, to the benefit of both the individual, the local community and society in the broader sense;

1.21

deplores the fact that in the Solidarity Programme there is a lack of sufficient coverage for the almost 500,000 asylum seekers in the European Union who are awaiting a decision on residence or similar permits, the vast majority of whom are outside the regular labour market;

1.22

stresses that the disparity between the national level's focus on the need for immigrant labour, and the local level's efforts to combat exclusion, marginalisation and xenophobia, reinforces the need for dialogue and cooperation between all levels concerned;

1.23

considers that actions and policies leading progressively to the formal right to vote, which will help to increase the involvement of immigrants in the democratic process, should be a decisive part of the Solidarity Programme;

1.24

welcomes the Decision establishing the European Return Fund, recalling that integrated management of return must include a regional parameter, especially acknowledging the contribution of regional and local authorities at EU borders in the support of voluntary return schemes.

2.1

stresses that a balanced policy which will promote measures to ensure equable levels of legal migration together with measures to discourage illegal migration and fight against smuggling and trafficking in human beings, is essential. The CoR emphasises also the important role of migration in terms of filling skill shortages and calls upon the European Council to develop effective policy initiatives in these areas including the recruitment of third country nationals for scientific research;

2.2

stresses that the local and regional authorities should be more involved in framing and implementing of the asylum policies. The CoR proposes considering extension of the scope of funding under Regional Cooperation and the New Neighbourhood Policy, which are included in the third main objective of the Structural Funds for the 2007-2013 period, to cover these tasks and hopes that the joint multilateral programmes conducted under that objective and the bilateral action plans that will be implemented as part of neighbourhood policy will be coordinated effectively;

2.3

stresses that it is imperative to provide for concrete involvement of regional and local authorities both in designing and executing of actions under all four Funds, in order to materialise the horizontal provision on partnership;

2.4

proposes the strengthening of actions and measures involving education in the efforts for the management of migratory flows, especially in the fields of integration of migrants and refugees;

2.5

proposes the inclusion of specific horizontal provisions — clauses as follows:

2.6

regrets that expenditure for technical assistance in all four Decisions is low although public awareness campaigns are crucial in the success and effectiveness of all policies in the field of Freedom, Security and Justice;

2.7

encourages local and regional administrations to exchange training programmes and to work towards synergy and partnership with appropriate European and national authorities;

2.8

encourages local and regional authorities to contribute to a fast and effective implementation of measures proposed in the framework Programme;

2.9

launches a Committee of the Regions action plan to foster the spirit of a fair share of responsibilities between Member States and within the Member States between national, regional, local, urban and other public authorities in the field of migration;

2.10

stresses that it must be considered as a relevant and Community-focused partner, helping more effectively to clarify the responsibilities of local and regional representatives as regards issues of funding and managing of migration flows for the period 2007-2013 and thus helping to integrate these into the cooperation mechanism that the Union wishes to implement.