Il lancio dell'European Migration Dialogue

Il 23 maggio è stato presentato a Bruxelles l'European Migration Dialogue, un progetto che riunisce 27 ONG di 17 paesi (Austria, Belgio, Danimarca, Finlandia, Francia, Germania, Grecia, Ungheria, Irlanda, Italia, Lussemburgo, Olanda, Polonia, Portogallo, Spagna, Svizzera e Regno Unito) con l'obiettivo di promuovere un dibattito libero dall'ipoteca della questione sicuritaria e centrato sul contributo dei migranti e il loro diritto all'uguaglianza di trattamento e all'inclusione sociale e sulle questioni relative alle migrazioni in Europa. E' stato presentato anche il primo prodotto del progetto: un volume di circa 600 pagine che comprende 18 rapporti-paese e un'analisi comparativa Europa/Stati Uniti.

Migration Policy Group

23 May 2003

Commissioner Vitorino speaks at launch of European Migration Dialogue
The launch of the European Migration Dialogue takes place today in Brussels in the presence of Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner Antonio Vitorino.

23 key non-governmental agencies from 17 countries have come together in this partnership to promote and contribute to debates on migration across Europe. Through information exchange, meetings and common projects they will engage more stakeholders in the migration debates at the national and European levels. In his opening address, Commissioner Vitorino emphasised the crucial role of civil society in the development of EU migration policies. He said that:

"Immigration figures high in our citizens' priorities. The Commission proposals on immigration aim at giving a common legal frame to Member States and to determine common definitions, criteria and procedures regarding the conditions of entry and residence of third country nationals for the purpose of paid employment and self-employed economic activities.
In the meanwhile we need Member States to inform each other and the Commission of what is happening, so that everybody can learn from each other's experiences and find out what the added value of European responses might be."

Presenting the first product of the partnership, a series of country reports on approaches to immigration management and stakeholders in the migration debates, Jan Niessen of the Migration Policy Group (MPG) stressed the partnership's commitment to open and well-informed dialogue: 'We believe that migration should be incorporated into Europe's evolving economic and social policy agenda. Immigrants should be valued for their contribution to achieve Europe's goals in this area and such recognition will enhance their integration into society. The European Migration Dialogue will work to increase public understanding for the inextricable link between policy debates on immigration management and debates about integration, equality and inclusion.'

The European Migration Dialogue includes organisations from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the UK.

For more information, contact MPG at [email protected], tel. 02 230 5930 or fax 02 280 0925.The country reports and comparative observations are available for download at MPG's website www.migpolgroup.com