29th Session of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe

Congress adopts declaration on the reception of refugees in Europe

21.10.2015

• Declaration adopted on 21 October 2015
• More information on the debate (adopted text, speeches, videos, interviews)

The ongoing refugee and migrant crisis is an unprecedented challenge for European states.  By way of example, between 17 and 22 October 2015, a total of 34 131 migrants entered Slovenia, which, along with Serbia and Croatia, has become one of the main transit countries for refugees heading to northern Europe.  During a debate held on 21 October 2015, at its 29^th Session, the Congress adopted a declaration on the reception of refugees in Europe, which points out that, faced with this humanitarian emergency, local and regional authorities, regardless of their geographical position in Europe, must play a key role in the arrangements for accommodating the refugees in order to ease the pressure on the border towns and cities and those closest to the Mediterranean and Syria.

The declaration proposed by the French delegation and presented by the rapporteur, Gunn Marit Helgesen (Norway, EPP/CCE), notes that, in the absence of a common migration and asylum policy, the large-scale influx of refugees is testing to the limit the solidarity between European states in terms of the fair distribution of migration flows and the resources deployed to accommodate these refugees in conditions worthy of the values promoted by the Council of Europe and the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities.

In the declaration, the Congress expresses its conviction that the right to asylum is a fundamental universal right, and categorically rejects any manipulation of the humanitarian crisis for political ends.  It asks the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to ensure that local and regional authorities, working with civil society to accommodate refugees, are able to gain better access to national and European funding.  It calls on the governments of Council of Europe member states to take urgent measures with a view to contributing to the political resolution of the conflicts in the Middle East, to collectively combat international terrorism and to help the people suffering there.  Lastly, the Congress calls on all the local and regional authorities of the member states to establish a “European network of cities of solidarity” in order to co-ordinate more effectively their refugee reception activities and initiatives.  This network was launched by Strasbourg and the Italian towns of Catania and Rovereto.  The city of Strasbourg is about to propose that the 60 member towns of the “Strasbourg Club” join the European network.  It is also planning to hold a world conference on the reception of refugees, to be attended by heads of state and representatives of the European institutions.

The debate, which was intended to explore practical courses of action and hear the views of local authorities where refugees and migrants first arrive, opened after a statement by Anne Brasseur, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.  Mrs Brasseur underlined the importance of solidarity to tackle “Europe’s number 1 challenge: the refugee and migratory crisis.”  “A prerequisite is unquestionably a fair distribution of refugees amongst and within member states.  Regions and municipalities should be ready to take their share in helping to respond to this extraordinary situation.  Too hot to handle is not an option at state level, nor is it an acceptable excuse at local and regional level,” the PACE President warned.

Klaus Bouillon, First Vice-President of the Conference of Ministers of the Interior in Germany, referred to the difficulties German local authorities are facing in terms of taking in migrants and called for an international solution.  Nihat Çiftçi, mayor of Sanlıurfa near Turkey’s border with Syria, gave details of practical steps taken by his town to help Syrian refugees.  He stressed that its reception capacity had been exceeded, adding that the refugees now saw Turkey “as a bridge to other countries in Europe”.  Giorgios Kyritsis, mayor of Kos (Greece), near the Turkish coastline, mentioned the financial losses which local tourism businesses were suffering because of the arrival of the refugees.  Pointing out that there were around 10 000 refugees on his island of 34 000 inhabitants, he called for European assistance with the fair distribution of the refugees.

Dalibor Jilek, Chair of the Working Group on Irregular Migrants of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), said that ECRI had decided to draw up a general policy recommendation on safeguarding irregular migrants from discrimination.  The text reminding Council of Europe member states of all migrants’ rights would be finalised in December 2015.

Some 20 members took part in the exchanges with the guest speakers.  Marco Monesi (Italy, SOC) proposed that the Council of Europe establish monitoring in relation to the EU so that EU members which had signed Council of Europe conventions were monitored and called to order if they fail to abide by the conventions.  For their part, Francis Lec (France, SOC) and Andreas Galster (Germany, EPP) called on Russia to use its influence over the Syrian regime to put an end to the crimes against humanity.