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CIVEX president Francois Decoster stated in a draft opinion adopted on the 14th of September by the CIVEX Commission that European authorities must implement a migration policy that takes into account the problems faced by local and regional governments. He pointed out to the need of having real European guidelines and a common management plan to cope with the increasing number of migrants fleeing to Europe.

A European migration policy for cities and regions

The local and regional representatives who are part of the CIVEX Commission have expressed their concern about the limited role that has been given to them by the European Agenda on Migration.They emphasise that solidarity is a fundamental principle not only with regard to migrants, but also for local authorities who are directly responsible for their reception and integration. Decoster argues that local authorities must be given more and better resources, and that they should be involved and consulted in implementing the measures proposed by the European institutions in order to improve the local authorities' capacities to accept and integrate migrants.

Measures to improve the refugee crisis management

Within this draft opinion, the local and regional authorities represented on the CIVEX Commission called for specific measures for asylum seekers with the aim of creating safe and legal routes into Europe through the adoption of a number of measures, including the establishment of a "humanitarian corridor"; creating reception centres in transition countries and issuing more visas on humanitarian grounds. Additionally, they proposed sharing the management of refugee camps between local, national and European authorities as well as introducing the option of moving police officers and administrative staff within the European territory in order to handle waves of refugees across different regions. They also highlighted the need for local and regional authorities to have access to national and European funds such as the Asylum and Migration Fund, the European Social Fund and the External Borders Fund to tackle migration problems. Finally, CIVEX members emphasised the need to distinguish between asylum seekers and economic migrants, and called for the fight against illegal people smuggling to be stepped up. These measures, they believe, will improve the response given by the European Union to the refugee crisis.