Bendel P, Heimann C, Schammann H, Stürner J (2019)
Publication Language: English
Publication Type: Other publication type
Publication year: 2019
City/Town: Berlin
DOI: 10.25530/03552.5
Open Access Link: https://www.boell.de/sites/default/files/e-paper_a_local_turn_for_european_refugee_politics.pdf
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.
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.
BibTeX: Download