Migrations and Inclusion in European Cities

Over the past few years, I have been conducting the evaluation of the projects EPIC and SHAPE, implemented by ALDA, the European Association of Local Democracy (www.alda-europe.eu), in the framework of the AMIF EU programme.

The AMIF programme, the financing instrument for European migration and asylum policies, has €9.9 billion for the period 2021-2027 and 4 objectives: i) to strengthen and develop all aspects of a common asylum system in Europe, ii) to support legal migration to Member States, iii) to promote fair and effective return strategies in Member States, and iv) to increase solidarity and responsibility-sharing among Member States.

First of all, here are some data on migration in Europe today. On January 1, 2023, out of 448.4 million inhabitants, the European Union had 27.3 million non-European citizens, or 6% of the population. A large proportion of these non-nationals reside in Germany (12.3 million); Italy, France and Spain each have 5 to 6 million. As for asylum seekers, 1,142,618 applications were lodged in 2023 in EU countries; the vast majority were made in Germany (29%); then in France (15%), Spain (14%), Italy(12%). Most asylum seekers come from Syria (16%), Afghanistan (10%), Turkey (9%), Venezuela (6%) and Colombia (6%) (1) .

The local level has a key role in the integration of migrants, in the organization of their daily lives, whether in terms of access to housing, children's education, access to the labour market, reception and integration of women, etc. It is in this context that ALDA has launched these two projects funded by the AMIF programme.

The EPIC project – the European Platform for Integration in Cities – was implemented during the period 2020-2023 and aimed to address the challenges of integration in medium-sized cities: housing, the labour market, integration policies, including narrative models. Its aim was to promote the exchange of expertise and experience on these topics and to extend these experiences to other European cities.

The project partnership, in addition to ALDA, was composed of 6 local authorities and 7 civil society associations. For cities: the Municipality of Brescia (Italy), the Municipality of Ioannina (Greece), the Municipality of Amadora (Portugal), the Municipality of Oberhausen (Germany), the Municipality of Sisak (Croatia), the Metropolitan Area of Gdansk (Poland). For civil society associations: Association Zavidovici (Italy), Symbiosis (Greece), Jesuit Refugee Service in Portugal, Jesuit Refugee Service in Croatia, Kitev (Germany), Solidaridad sin Fronteras (Municipality of Alcorcon, Spain), Cooperazione Studio e Progetto 2 representing the Regione Sardegna. Finally, University College London and the European Association for Local Development Information were transversal partners in the project.
The project had just been launched when the Covid health crisis began and the actions had to be carried out for the most part during the pandemic. Thanks to the interest and efforts of ALDA and all the partners, the project has been able to be implemented, adapting the actions to the rules in force during the pandemic (teleworking, remote meetings, online exchanges, etc.). Later, the war in Ukraine also had significant consequences on the life of the project, impacting the policies and priorities of several partners, for example in Poland and Germany. Despite these difficulties, the project has achieved tangible results for the partners and the partner cities, with remarkable actions to support migrants – I want to cite the example of the Reception Centre dedicated to migrants in Amadora, organised thanks to the collaboration with the Jesuit Refugee Service, which we were able to visit during a meeting on the spot. An important political, social and human experience, where the words solidarity, community and belonging, take on a concrete meaning. There are others that we will not all be able to mention here.

The SHAPE project (Sharing Actions for Participation and Empowerment of Migrant communities and Local Authorities), was also funded by the EU's AMIF programme and implemented by ALDA from the beginning of 2022 to spring 2024. The project aimed to promote and strengthen the participation of migrants in the design and implementation of integration policies at local, national and European level. It provided for the participation of representatives of 3 border countries (Italy, Hungary and Croatia), where the opinion seems particularly negative with regard to migrants, and representatives of two countries with more advanced policies on this subject, Portugal and Germany.

Alongside ALDA as Project Leader, the other partners of the SHAPE project were:
- 2 Municipalities: the City of Stuttgart (Germany) and the Municipality of Lousada (Portugal);
- 4 Civil society associations working with migrants: We World (Italy), RightChallenge (Portugal), the Jesuit Refugee Service (Croatia), Artemisszio (Hungary);
- 2 major organisations federating migrants' associations: Laka (Germany) and CONNGI (Italy).
My work as an external evaluator led me to work mainly with the ALDA team, which in its role as Project Leader was responsible for coordinating the planned activities. I would like to thank all ALDA employees for their cooperation, availability and trust during the evaluation. But I also had the pleasure of listening, analysing and evaluating the work of the partners. I would like to congratulate these actors on the ground for their daily work in support of human rights and local democracy and for their actions that reveal a real commitment to the integration of migrants.

At a time when most populations in European countries seem to be showing the feeling that immigration is too high, the projects carried out within the framework of the AMIF programme and supporting the promotion of the local level in the integration of immigrants, such as the EPIC and SHAPE projects led by ALDA or Inclucities led by CEMR, etc. are more important than ever.

This feeling of "submersion" so often evoked nowadays is in fact based on a real lack of knowledge of the reality of migratory flows in Europe (overestimation of legal immigration, lack of knowledge of the reasons for visa applications, etc.), in addition to ignorance of the situation in the countries of origin. In a Europe in demographic decline, especially in the countries of southern Europe, immigration should indeed be seen as an asset, even if it poses challenges, and local authorities can play a key role in helping immigrants to have better access to employment, language, education, social and cultural life.

The two ALDA projects have testified to the efforts of many cities in this direction, and the European Union must continue to promote and support these local actions in favour of integration. States should draw inspiration from them, at a time when, on the contrary, we are witnessing increasingly restrictive policies. The cooperation of cities and municipalities with the voluntary sector, as exemplified by the EPIC and SHAPE projects, is also very interesting in this context, because it aims to strengthen local governance and the effectiveness of reception.

The wind blowing in Europe today is very worrying. Hatred and fear, withdrawal and individualism are never positive, as history shows us. Local authorities, which are the institutional level closest to the citizens, must continue to support and work with civil society to carry and strengthen the founding values of the European Union. The EPIC and SHAPE projects are concrete examples in this perspective. For this reason I have been happy to make my contribution and I will always be available to do so, when it comes to defending the values of the European Union.

1) Source : Toute l'Europe, April 2024.