Meeting in Vilnius turns spotlight on integration of migrants and refugees, with CoR members also reiterating strategic importance of EU's enlargement.
Representatives of the EU's regions and cities have emphasised the need for discussion about migration at the European level over the coming five years to be more focused on integration and on the contribution that newcomers to the EU can make.
Members of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) were speaking at meetings in Vilnius that particularly brought to the fore the efforts that Lithuania is making to support refugees from neighbouring Belarus and Ukraine.
At a conference on 9 July on 'Integration of migrants and refugees: unlocking new opportunities for cities and regions', many CoR members described immigrants as significant contributors to their local communities and economies, but also highlighted that they face major challenges of misinformation and negative depictions of newcomers. Members explored how politicians can reshape the narrative in a way that contributes to more cohesive and prosperous societies without losing track of the challenges posed by migration.
In May, the EU agreed a reform of its legal framework on migration and asylum management after years of debate often dominated by discussion about the control of external borders. Among policies advocated by the CoR are the development of pathways for legal migration, as well as greater and more coordinated EU funding to support the integration of refugees and migrants.
The meeting and conference in the Lithuanian capital was hosted by the mayor of Vilnius, Valdas Benkunskas (EPP), and the head of the Lithuanian delegation, Mindaugas Sinkevičius (PES), and was addressed by – among others – Justina Jakštienė, the country's deputy minister for social security and labour, and Lithuania's deputy interior minister and CoR member, Arnoldas Abramavičius.
The Lithuanian speakers underscored the positive contribution being made to their country by the tens of thousands of Ukrainians and Belarusians who have moved to Lithuania since fraudulent presidential elections in Belarus in 2020 and since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In 2022 alone, over 60,000 Ukrainians fled to Lithuania, around 75% of immigrants who came to Lithuania that year. Efforts to support refugees are part of a broader picture in which the city of Vilnius, among others, is keen to attract and retain skilled labour.
The day before, on 8 July, members of the CoR's Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs (CIVEX), which is chaired by
Patrick Molinoz (FR/PES), Vice-President of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, discussed the prospects for the EU's enlargement over the coming years, following the start – on 25 June – of accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova. The CoR is a strong supporter of EU enlargement, emphasising the strategic importance of the policy and the need to involve cities and regions in reforms ahead of accession.
Andrius Kubilius, a member of the European Parliament and former prime minister of Lithuania, told CoR members that when Lithuania started membership talks, its GDP per capita, based on purchasing power parity, was just 36% of the EU average, he said. It is now 90%. Enlargement countries should be integrated into the single market "as quickly as possible", he said, adding that the EU needed to find a way to avoid a sense of "competition" developing between countries seeking EU membership.
Quotes:
- Valdas Benkunskas (LT/EPP), Mayor of Vilnius and host of the meeting: "Vilnius leads Lithuania's innovation landscape, driven by its longstanding status as a multicultural city where people of diverse nationalities, cultures, and experiences collaborate towards common goals. Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Vilnius has provided asylum to nearly 100,000 Ukrainians and Belarusians who have become integral members of our community. Here in Vilnius, we are committed to supporting refugees, helping them realise their potential, and contributing to the overall strength of our community."
- Mindaugas Sinkevičius (LT/PES), Mayor of Jonava and head of the Lithuanian delegation to the CoR: "As local authorities and local leaders, we strive to make the inflows of migrants and refugees a benefit to society rather than a burden to our welfare system. This is why we focus our efforts on empowering incomers to integrate into host communities and the labour market in a win-win process."
- Patrick Molinoz (FR/PES), Vice-President of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region and chair of the CoR's Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs (CIVEX): "We welcome the start of negotiations on the EU accession of Ukraine and Moldova and are fully convinced that enlargement is and must remain a merit-based process. Against this backdrop, it is time for the EU to consider the future of its policies by taking greater account of the impact of a possible enlargement of the EU. The involvement of local and regional authorities is decisive in this process through peer learning that can facilitate effective decentralisation of acceding countries, a key reform in the context of enlargement."
- Alin-Adrian Nica (RO/EPP), president of Timiș County Council and first vice-president of the CoR's CIVEX commission: "Cities and regions have an unwavering commitment to creating sustainable integration pathways that go hand in hand with the objectives of social cohesion and inclusive growth. Despite difficult circumstances and financial constraints, we are committed not only to providing all the necessary services, but also to applying new approaches to integration."
Background information:
- The European Committee of the Regions (CoR) is based in Brussels, but each of the CoR's six legislative commissions holds a meeting outside Brussels once a year. The CoR's Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional and External Affairs (CIVEX) met on 8 July in Vilnius at the invitation of two of its CoR members: Valdas Benkunskas (LT/EPP), Mayor of Vilnius, and Mindaugas Sinkevičius (LT/PES), Mayor of Jonava and head of the Lithuanian delegation to the CoR. The agenda included debates on the EU’s enlargement and the European Parliament elections, as well as an exchange of views on the EU’s Africa strategy. The full agenda can be found here and the meeting can be watched here.
- The conference on 9 July – "Integration of migrants and refugees: unlocking new opportunities for cities and regions" – brought together members of the European Committee of the Regions with representatives of the European Parliament, European Commission, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the International Organization for Migration. A recording of the meeting and conference can be found here.
- The conference was preceded, on 8 July, by a study visit highlighting some of the ways in which the city of Vilnius and Lithuania are integrating immigrants, with presentations of the work of International House Vilnius, which provides newcomers with a comprehensive set of services, and of the Vilnius Mental Health Centre, which provides psychological assistance to Ukrainian and Belarusian refugees.
- The European Committee of the Regions is the co-founder of the Cities and Regions for Integration of Migrants Network, and serves as the network's secretariat. Members of the network learn from each other's successes and challenges and also advocate for deeper, better funded collaboration between the local, regional, national and European levels of governance.
- The EU adopted a reform of the EU's legal framework on migration and asylum management – New Pact on Migration and Asylum – in May 2024, after nearly four years of debate. It was one of the last major legislative acts before the European Parliament elections, on 6-9 June 2024.