Today, the members of the CoR's CIVEX commission adopted by an overwhelming majority the draft opinion on the Partnership Framework with third countries on Migration by PES member Peter Bossman, Mayor of the municipality of Piran, Slovenia.
"According to the International Organization for Migration, more than 1.2 million migrants arrived in Europe by sea in 2015 and almost 35 000 by land. While the EU agreement with Turkey, concluded in March 2016, has considerably reduced the numbers of migrants coming by boat from this country, the flow from the northern coast of Africa has once again increased, with thousands of migrants looking to come to Europe," the CoR rapporteur told CIVEX members. He noted that "cooperation between the EU and third countries must take on a new dimension and introduce additional instruments tailored to respond to these challenges. We urgently need a holistic approach to migration that allows sustainable, more decentralised and efficient management of migration movements and enables human rights to be properly respected."
In his draft opinion, the rapporteur stresses the need to swiftly implement the obligations set out in the European Agenda on Migration: reducing the incentives for irregular migration, improving border management and the security of the EU's external borders, implementing a strong common asylum policy, and introducing a new policy on legal migration.
Underlining that "the EU needs to speak with a single voice", the rapporteur points to the added value of local and regional authorities in implementing comprehensive migration partnerships ("compacts"), and underlines the valuable work of the CoR's existing cooperation platforms, such as the Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly (ARLEM) and the Conference of the Regional and Local Authorities for the Eastern Partnership (CORLEAP).
Last but not least, the draft opinion welcomes the European Commission's proposal for an ambitious external investment plan that would tackle the root causes of irregular migration, including economic and social causes, and would support partner countries in managing the consequences of irregular migration in Africa and in the EU neighbourhood countries. It calls for local governments to be involved in the design and implementation of this plan.
The draft opinion, which was warmly welcomed by the representatives of the European External Action Service (EEAS) and of the European Commission's Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development, is due to be adopted at the CoR plenary session of 8-9 February 2017.
