We are happy to launch today our first publication with key recommendations and best practices in the field of European migration addressing EU representatives, civil society, mayors and city representatives. Together with the new publication, we are launching a new save the date for a hybrid Conference of Cities on 25-26 June 2021 online and in Palermo, in cooperation with the Cities of Potsdam and Palermo.
In 2020 our Consortium launched a series of online conferences around five key demands. These online events have been the first step in a process aimed at creating a European network of cities and communities whose initiatives and actions will be part of a joint campaign advocating for better European migration policies. You can check the online panels here.
The new released report is the account of the four conferences held over the course of 2020:
The first chapter looks at Demand 1, dedicated to the collaboration between cities and civil society organisations working together for a radical change in European Union (EU) migration policy design and decision-making. Cities’ representatives joining the conference have stated that “mayors have a very important role to play in educating people.
A long-term comprehensive mechanism for arrival and reception with European municipalities at its centre requires new strategies to create legal corridors towards and across Europe. The Demand 4 presented in Chapter 2 explains the functioning of the humanitarian corridor, a model adopted by the Project Mediterranean Hope and proposed for dissemination.
Ensure an active role for cities and civil society organisations in the management of EU funds is covered in Chapter 3, which tackles the Demand 3. Several EU-wide organisations, Eurocities among them, have long been pushing for cities to have direct access to EU funding.
The pandemic required emergency measures to be put in place in defence of human rights-based policies on health, housing, education and labour, which are topics covered in the fourth chapter, focusing on Demands 2 and 5.
Together with the new publication, we launch a new save the date for a hybrid Conference of Cities on 25-26 June 2021 online and in Palermo, in cooperation with the Cities of Potsdam and Palermo. This conference will continue the discussions started online throughout 2020 and will host online and physical discussions between Mayors and city representatives from all over Europe that have shown their willingness to uphold fundamental European values and refugees’ rights.