On 13 May, we published our political statement on asylum. Our statement was developed by our working group migration and integration with input from all social affairs forum working groups. We stress the important role European cities play in receiving and integrating asylum seekers, refugees and other beneficiaries of protection. We call for a comprehensive EU migration policy that recognises the challenges faced by cities and local level solutions.

Cities in arrival, transit and destination countries in Europe are in a central position regarding the social, humanitarian and financial challenges caused by the current asylum crisis.

Our statement reminds the important role played by European cities for the reception and integration of asylum seekers, refugees and other beneficiaries of important protection. It also calls for a comprehensive EU migration policy which takes the challenge faced by cities and the solutions found at city level into account.

The EUROCITIES statement recommends measures to facilitate the integration of asylum seekers and refugees at local level, supports effort to achieve a fair sharing of responsibility and solidarity across Europe, and calls for adequate European and national funding for services provided to asylum seekers and refugees at the local level

As frontline service providers, often responsible for taking care of asylum seekers, city authorities should be directly involved by national and EU institutions in the implementation of the Common European Asylum System, sharing responsibilities and ensuring a fair distribution of effort across Europe.

A more systematic involvement of cities, together with the changes we propose, will contribute substantially to Europe’s ability to respond to one of its most urgent challenges and better enable cities to ensure the successful social and economic integration of asylum seekers and recognised refugees.