1.7.2016   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 240/31

1.

notes that the magnitude of the current refugee crisis resulting from the civil war in Syria and the political instability in many North African countries and conflicts and lawlessness in some parts of the world is unprecedented and that everything seems to suggest that it is far from over;

2.

takes the view that the scale and gravity of the issue demand a holistic approach, comprising various aspects: providing sustainable care for the refugees arriving in Europe while upholding their rights; combatting irregular migration, not least by bolstering external border controls, introducing strong criminal sanctions against human traffickers and establishing an effective and secure system for returning individuals who do not meet the criteria for asylum seekers; improving reception facilities in the regions of origin, meaning both countries of origin and neighbouring regions; and tackling the underlying causes of migration as the consequence of violence and lawlessness. This combined approach has been followed by the EU for some time already. The Committee supports this approach (1) and highlights the importance of actually implementing the agreements reached and meeting the commitments entered into;

3.

regrets that, in practice, most attention has been given to limiting the number of refugees coming to Europe and distributing them between the Member States, rather than to protecting these people’s rights at all levels. Local and regional authorities have an unprecedented responsibility in this respect for the reception and integration of refugees in Europe; the Committee also deems it important for the European Commission to pay ongoing, close attention to the growing challenges and draw up proposals with a view to supporting the activities carried out by the affected local and regional authorities to this end;

4.

notes that less attention has to date been given to the reception of refugees in the regions to which the country belongs. This is despite the fact that their number is much higher in those regions than it is in Europe: the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has registered 2,1 million Syrian refugees in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon; the Turkish government has registered 1,9 million Syrians, while there are over 26 700 Syrian refugees in North Africa, i.e. a total of 4 390 439 people (2);

5.

welcomes the efforts of the European Council to strike a deal with Turkey; however is concerned whether the deal concluded with Turkey will reduce the number of people crossing the EU’s borders in an irregular manner. Calls for refugees to receive direct financial support and have the possibility to apply for a humanitarian visa in the refugee camps in third countries. Part of the aid should also go to the UNHCR to improve the living conditions in the refugee camps;

6.

notes that many displaced people are reduced to living in refugee camps, often in a neighbouring country. They do not all have the necessary means to travel onwards, for example to Europe, regardless of the quality of reception conditions in their current location are of a satisfactory quality. Many hope to return to their home country or to find a worthwhile existence in a refugee camp. The latter implies appropriate basic services (housing, food, healthcare, etc.), education for children, work, an income and peaceful coexistence in the new environment;

7.

has drawn up this opinion on its own initiative with the aim of offering direction to EU measures aimed at providing refugees with better protection in their regions of origin, i.e. in the country of first asylum, mostly countries neighbouring the one from which they are fleeing. The opinion shows that local and regional authorities can make a significant contribution to achieving EU objectives in this context and sets out the instruments needed for that to happen. It emphasises the way that the strategies and possibilities of the various tiers of government can complement each other in order to achieve better coordination and results, while upholding the fundamental rights and values that are at the heart of the EU. In that regard, it should be noted for the sake of completeness that improving accommodation conditions in the region should in no way detract from recognition of the right to international protection within the EU (3);

8.

notes that accommodation in the region of origin in the event of crises is subject to a number of fixed realities:

9.

notes that regardless of whether or not accommodation involves camps, large numbers of displaced people have a major impact on host communities: placing greater pressure on basic services, in relation to provision of drinking water supplies, education and healthcare, protection of the environment (waste and sewage), integration into the labour market, etc.;

10.

is aware that for host communities this often translates into higher prices for food, housing and services etc., while at the same time generating competition for jobs and thus lower wages;

11.

acknowledges that this pressure on host communities often comes on top of existing problems and challenges. The combined effect is often to generate social tensions between refugees and host communities, and among (groups of) refugees themselves, or to stir up dormant social tensions within host communities.

12.

realises that there is a danger that this can snowball: if tensions get out of hand, there can be violence and refugee flows within host communities;

13.

finally, notes the ad-hoc manner in which much aid is administered. The location of refugee camps is not always well thought out; very often the choice is made with far too brief a time frame in mind, without considering a broader vision for regional development and frequently without listening to local and regional authorities, who ultimately are those most affected by the knock-on effects, as described above;

14.

is of the opinion that, in view of the situation described above, what is needed is a combination of crisis management and a longer-term approach, aimed at providing basic necessities and securing social cohesion as part of a process of controlled physical, social and economic development that respects human rights, including gender equality and the environment;

15.

would recommend wherever possible and as soon as possible reducing refugees’ dependency on aid, which results for instance from their not being allowed to accept paid employment. Also recommends that efforts be made to boost refugees’ self-reliance and for them to be able, wherever possible, to manage their own lives by, for example, promoting options for them to carry out paid work. In this connection, the fact that Syrian refugees in Turkey can now obtain a work permit is a positive development. New approaches are also needed here, for instance engaging the business community. Experts suggest that small cash payments to refugees have a much more positive impact on the local economy than assistance in kind. The Committee therefore calls for this option to be analysed and for the findings to be implemented where possible;

16.

recommends ensuring henceforth that the establishment, development and management of camps is based from the outset on an urban and territorial development approach as opposed to an emergency aid approach, with an eye from the beginning on positive and negative impacts on the host communities; this approach means that more informed choices will have to be made about the location of camps and subsequent expansion possibilities, the existing facilities available, and the possibility of developing new facilities, the economic impact, traffic, etc., paying special attention to vulnerable groups such as women and children;

17.

also points out that access to education and paid work, in combination with other measures for specific groups, such as women, children and young people, is important for two reasons. Firstly, it reduces the risk of radicalisation, isolation, segregation, vulnerability to criminal activities (human trafficking, prostitution, trafficking in organs) and recruitment by terrorist networks; secondly, it facilitates social, economic and cultural integration into the social fabric of the host county;

18.

urges the EU to help with the provision of mental health care for Syrian refugees, especially children who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder representing a threat to their health and to their integration;

19.

is of the view that the approach should also be to plan for the permanent, or at least very long-term, presence of refugees, outside the camps too, and thus their integration within host communities. For example, a part of the resources could be allocated to offering support for socially useful work and the reception of new arrivals. This will necessitate an extensive policy dialogue which considers the particular situation of host regions and of the refugee groups affected;

20.

notes that this type of approach cannot focus solely on refugees but must necessarily also focus on preventing and resolving problems within the host communities themselves. The international community needs to be more prepared than it has been to date to support national, local and regional authorities in shouldering their responsibility for the environment within which ‘integration in the region’ must take place. This must also be reflected financially, helping to maintain the level of basic services and promoting local and regional economic development, for example;

21.

notes that the problems of refugees and the communities in their countries of origin and the surrounding region arise in the villages, towns and regions where they live, go to school, need assistance, work, seek work or have neighbours. In the wake of direct emergency aid, measures must therefore be taken and solutions found at local and regional authority level above all (7);

22.

notes however that local and regional authorities in countries of origin and the surrounding region find it very difficult to respond to these expectations. In most cases, even before the refugees arrived, they already had inadequate powers, insufficient financial resources and a lack of skilled personnel. In centralised political systems, they cannot act quickly because many types of expenditure and decisions have first to be approved at a higher administrative level;

23.

cooperation between local and regional authorities on the one hand, and UNHCR and humanitarian NGOs on the other, needs to be stepped up if work is to be coordinated; with a view to subsidiarity, recognition of and support for public, private and non-profit players from the third sector and civil society which are on the front line in terms of hosting and seeing to the needs of refugees in the regions, guaranteeing a constructive process of integration which takes greater account of regional situations and issues;

24.

recommends improvements on a number of levels in order to enable local and regional authorities in countries of origin and the surrounding region to take effective responsibility for maintaining or providing basic services and for tending to the longer-term aspects of the sustainable social and economic development of their regions and municipalities:

25.

notes that making reception in the region a major element of the broader policy on refugees will require a permanently high level of economic, material, human and technical resources. On 14 September 2015, the European Justice and Home Affairs Council therefore quite rightly decided to increase the contribution of the EU and its Member States to the UNHCR, in order to enable it to host large numbers of Syrian refugees in camps in the neighbouring countries, and also agreed on a significant increase in the EU Regional Trust Fund in response to the Syrian crisis, the Madad Fund (8). This increase will presumably be needed for several years to come;

26.

hopes that instruments similar to the Madad Fund will be made available to tackle the crises raging in various North African countries, which could also (potentially) result in large numbers of refugees;

27.

therefore urges the EU Member States to shoulder their responsibility to provide financial support and make resources that have been promised available without delay, or do more to narrow the considerable gap in the Trust Funds between resources committed by the EU and contributions from the Member States;

28.

calls for the Madad Fund to make sure that it gives sufficient attention in its priorities to governance issues, reflecting these in its work with and for local and regional authorities, as well as to the need to act quickly while maintaining precision, planning, effectiveness and efficiency;

29.

urges the Member States to mobilise the economic resources and administrative procedures needed. To this end, local and regional authorities, particularly those with health, educational and social services responsibilities, must be involved in distributing the resources earmarked for caring for these people, so that appropriate measures to deal comprehensively with the situation can be taken jointly;

30.

recommends that decisive action should be taken under European development cooperation policy to address and endeavour to remedy the root causes of conflicts that force people to flee their own countries, including the lack of functioning rule of law systems, the lack of respect for human rights, religious prosecution and the lack of good governance at the various levels of government in fragile states. In this way the EU can help to tackle the causes that lead large groups of people to flee because their lives are in danger and they see no hope of peace;

31.

to this end, recognises the importance of establishing formal, institutionalised and effective channels of communication with the local and regional authorities of refugees’ areas of origin, with a view to identifying the main fields requiring greater attention and the most suitable measures, such as financial or technological support, training for public leaders and the exchange of knowledge and best practice;

32.

considers that the principles set out in the ‘Sustainable urban agenda for the Mediterranean region’ and the key measures planned in the call for partnership with the delegation of Libyan mayors, initiatives spearheaded by ARLEM, should be followed in order to achieve effective protection of refugees in their area of origin;

33.

recommends that political dialogue with the governments of the countries where refugees first seek asylum give express attention to the role of local and regional authorities, and would also draw attention to the basic conditions necessary for local and regional authorities to be able to fulfil their role and shoulder their responsibilities. Synergies must be established between local and regional decentralised cooperation players in order to facilitate joint international support projects and programmes. This includes implementing the agreements made with the Turkish government and their implications for local and regional authorities in regions bordering Syria, particularly cities in Turkey that are home to large numbers of refugees. The association of Turkish municipalities has drafted some initial proposals in this respect;

34.

calls for the promotion of local and regional authority involvement in needs assessments from an early stage, as for instance set out in the Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan 2015-2016 in response to the Syrian crisis (3RP). A coordinated approach to assistance is also needed at local level and this requires the active involvement of local authorities at all stages in the development of the aid programme;

35.

the European local and regional authorities have developed some good practices and expertise regarding the integration of refugees. Therefore calls on the Council, the Commission and the EEAS to make use of the experience, availability and networks of Europe’s local and regional authorities: the Committee along with ARLEM and CORLEAP, which it set up, Platforma, and also national associations of municipalities, such as the association of Dutch municipalities (VNG) (9). They have a wealth of knowledge and experience with regard to basic service provision, integration and local and regional economic development, not only in Europe, but also in countries of first asylum. A practical approach involving sharing of best practices, comprehensive, targeted planning of provision in their area, based, inter alia, on scenario planning and taking into account the impact on the development possibilities of host communities, would appear to complement the work of UNHCR in Jordan and Lebanon very well;

36.

calls for dialogue with other key players in this field, not least during the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul in May 2016, to look further into the ideas set out in this opinion and for these to be translated into policies and programmes. The Committee would be happy to go into this in further detail.