A Local Turn for European Refugee Politics - Recommendations for Strengthening Municipalities and Local Communities in refugee and asylum policy of the EU

Bendel P, Heimann C, Schammann H, Stürner J (2019)

Publication Language: English

Publication Type: Other publication type

Publication year: 2019

City/Town: Berlin

Open Access Link: https://www.boell.de/sites/default/files/e-paper_a_local_turn_for_european_refugee_politics.pdf

Abstract

The European Union’s migration and asylum policy is in deep crisis. Initiatives by individual nation states are the order of the day. A common «area of freedom, security and justice» is still only a distant prospect. In search of new ideas to stop this trend it has increasingly been suggested that the competences of cities and municipalities when it comes to the reception of refugees should be strengthened.At the same time, the EU Com-mission is promoting the involvement of the municipal level in various policy areas with a range of activities such as the «Urban Agenda for the EU». Ultimately it is the municipalities themselves which, despite a lack of legal competences, are speaking out more clearly on questions of migration policy. In recent years they have coped with the accommodation and care of refugees, despite facing a number of challenges. Now they want to have a say when it comes to the opening or closing of borders and the reception of persons seeking protection. City networks such as Solidarity Cities bear witness to this self-confidence, as do the offers by the mayors of Naples, Barcelona, Bonn and numerous other municipalities to take in the passengers of rescue ships. This initiative failed, however, largely due to the national governments. The municipalities still appear to be in too weak a position institutionally to effectively help shape EU asylum policy. There are still no coherent strategies which are both innovative and feasible.

This is the starting point for this paper. It demonstrates the financial and structural deficits of the municipalities in respect of asylum and refugee policy and develops specific ideas as to how municipalities can be strengthened sustainably, and their potential be used for the further development of a common European asylum system. Municipalities should, for example, be given improved access to EU funds and a say in the reception of persons seeking protection. At the same time, the right to self-determination of and suggestions put forward by persons in need of protection should be taken seriously: secondary movements can only be reduced significantly if refugees are able to participate in the choice of place of residence.

The proposals connect promising approaches from the professional discourse in politics and academia and take them further. Gesine Schwan was a particularly prominent advocate of the call for municipalities to be strengthened as independent actors with an EU fund in EU refugee policy. This and similar demands have recently been taken up by France’s president, Emmanuel Macron as well as by Green Party MPs, for example Franziska Brantner. The recommendations have been debated with experts from both researchers and politicians from different political fields. They can be adapted to the structures and processes in the respective member state and implemented in accordance with national policy. The scope of the proposals is based mainly on political feasibility and practicability. The proposals can be divided into three groups: the organisation of European funds, the strengthening of multi-level governance and the development of a municipal relocation mechanism.

Authors with CRIS profile

Petra Bendel Zentralinstitut für Regionenforschung Janina Stürner-Siovitz Zentralinstitut für Regionenforschung

Involved external institutions

Universität Hildesheim

Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Bendel, P., Heimann, C., Schammann, H., & Stürner, J. (2019). A Local Turn for European Refugee Politics - Recommendations for Strengthening Municipalities and Local Communities in refugee and asylum policy of the EU. Berlin.

MLA:

Bendel, Petra, et al. A Local Turn for European Refugee Politics - Recommendations for Strengthening Municipalities and Local Communities in refugee and asylum policy of the EU. Berlin, 2019.

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