28th Session of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe  – 24-26 March 2015

Calais, Lampedusa, Siirt: European local authorities facing migration flows

A number of European municipalities are confronted with unprecedented migration flows, particularly as a result of conflicts and political instability and insecurity in the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa. This phenomenon has a key impact at local level, as municipalities are in the front line when it comes to receiving these new migrants and refugees and are faced with huge difficulties in providing basic services such as health care, education and waste management. In the light of the situation on the ground, the Congress held a debate on 24 March on the theme "local authorities facing migration flows" with the participation of the mayors of Calais (France), Lampedusa (Italy) and Siirt (Turkey), which are all particularly affected.

Tuncer Bakirhan, Co-Mayor of the municipality of Siirt and Co-President of the Union of Southeastern Anatolia Region Municipalities, in Turkey,  said that his region was an "area of chaos and instability". He added "This instability worsened at the time of the First Gulf War and with what is termed the 'Arab Spring', which in fact became a dark winter for the region, a human tragedy". Mr Bakirhan pointed out that his municipality and region had to cope with successive waves of refugees in 2014. Southeastern Anatolia first had to take in some 30 000 members of the Yazidi minority from northern Iraq who were fleeing the jihadist attacks of Daesh. The municipality of Siirt itself set up a refugee camp for 1 200 Yazidis. The region then had to cope with thousands of Kurdish refugees from Kobane in northern Syria, again due to the Daesh attacks. "None of the towns in the region was prepared for such an influx of refugees" added the co-mayor of Siirt.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), 3 279 migrants perished at sea in 2014 while attempting to cross the Mediterranean to Europe. Between 2000 and 2013, 23 258 people seeking refuge died or disappeared on their way to Europe, revealed a team of specialist journalists in a survey published on the Internet site The Migrants Files. Following the "Arab Spring" migratory flows intensified, above all in the Euro-Mediterranean region. The conflicts in Libya and Syria have also caused mass population movements.

The small Italian island of Lampedusa has in recent years come to symbolise this tragedy. In autumn 2013, 366 people lost their lives when their boat went down off the shores of this Mediterranean island, located at a distance of 355 km from the Libyan coast and just 167 km from that of Tunisia. In her address before the Congress Giuseppina Maria Nicolini, the Mayor of Lampedusa, sounded the alarm, drawing attention to the very specific situation of her island, which receives not migrants, but shipwreck survivors. "Every year the forecast number grows. This causes feelings of anxiety and fear. The people living on our island want to leave it. They ask themselves who the people in the refugee camps are. Nothing will change without a change in our approach" she said, adding that "Europe must adopt a common asylum policy as soon as possible."

According to Cardinal Francesco Montenegro, Archbishop of Agrigento, Representative of the Holy See, "For those coming from northern Africa Lampedusa is the door to the promised land. Unfortunately, the dream of a better world often become a nightmare." The cardinal referred to the "explosive situation in 2014 " stating that "170 000 people reached Italy's shores and ports, three times more than in 2012 and 2013 ." "Europe, which is reviewing its migration policies, must manage its Mediterranean borders with due regard for the human rights of  those making the crossing" he said.

In more northern parts of Europe, the town of Calais in France is another symbol of recent migratory movements. According to Natacha Bouchart, the Mayor of Calais, "In today's world Europe is an island of prosperity, albeit relative prosperity, in an unstable environment from both the economic and political standpoints." "The situation in my town became a cause for concern from the early 2000s" she says. "The manner in which we conceived the management of our borders in the late 20th century no longer corresponds to the situation today …  Calais has quite simply become the point of exit from the  European continent for migrants wishing to reach the Anglo-American world. In Calais we are attempting to implement humane, but firm responses". The Mayor of Calais also called into question the Schengen area and the Le Touquet agreements that ensued from it: "These agreements made our town a UK border checkpoint in French territory." She also called for "European funding of reception centres and security facilities in  the areas at risk."

Even further north, in Germany, the issue of migration is framed differently.. "Migration was nothing new for Germany, and migrants made our country stronger" acknowledges Thorsten Klute, Secretary of State, Ministry of Labour, Integration and Social Affairs of North Rhine Westphalia. "Nowadays a quarter of Germans directly or indirectly have a migrant profile" he added, pointing out that the country took in far more foreigners in 2013 and 2014 than in previous years.

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), 232 million migrants lived abroad in 2013, and their number has grown by 57 million since 2000. This organisation considers that migration is likely to increase for the foreseeable future.

Interviews :

http://bit.ly/1Hxm1Kw : (ITA) Giuseppina Nicolini, Il sindaco di Lampedusa, Italia: si discute la migrazione irregolare nel Mediterraneo e l'esperienza di Lampedusa. (24/03/15)

http://bit.ly/1GOZk4i : (ITA) Cardinale Montenegro, l'arcivescovo di Agrigento, si discute la migrazione irregolare nel Mediterraneo e la necessità di trovare un nuovo modo di gestire il fenomeno in Europa. (24/03/15)

http://t.co/12IHad69x9 : (FRA) Natacha Bouchart, Maire de Calais, parle de l'expérience de Calais en matière d'immigration irrégulière et de l’urgence d’une politique cohérente au niveau de l'Europe. (24/03/15)