ΕλληνικάLong-Term Strategy and more Cooperation: The Key to Refugees’ Integration
European and Greek stakeholders examined the integration of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees in light of the ongoing negotiations for the next Multiannual Financial Framework 2021-2027.
Athens, 28 February – The conference “Securing ΕU Funding for Integration for the programming period 2021-2027” took place yesterday and was organised by SolidarityNow in collaboration with the European Council for Refugees and Exiles (ECRE), the Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM) and the Greek organisations Generation 2.0 for Rights, Equality and Diversity, the Greek Forum of Refugees and Terre des hommes Hellas.
The conference, which was held at the Hellenic Pasteur Institute, focused on three main aspects of integration -employability, housing and education- with the aim of exploring ways to ensure that national programmes meet the real needs of asylum seekers, refugees and migrants given. This was essential as an improved framework and a better control mechanism for the use of European funds related to the integration of refugees and migrants are urgently needed in the country.
During the meeting and the discussions, representatives from Greek national and local authorities, EU institutions such as the European Commission and the European Social Fund+ (ESF +), civil society actors and international non-governmental organisations made policy recommendations for the next funding period, set priorities and exchanged best practices that can fill in existing gaps. Participants also discussed ways to improve cooperation between stakeholders and agreed, among other things, the following steps:
–The need for long term planning and allocation of adequate funding for specific integration activities in accordance to an overall strategy that guarantees complementarity of actions;
–Better coordination between authorities and collaboration between the government, NGOs and other stakeholder.
On the occasion of the event, Generation 2.0 for Rights, Equality & Diversity team with the vision of equal and active participation, highlights the need of adopting a financial framework that addresses integration as a single and long-term procedure aiming at citizenship.
The conference was supported by the European Program for Integration and Migration (EPIM), a collaborative initiative of the European Foundations Network.
