Conference for Mayors on EU mobility
On 11 February 2014 the European Commission and the Committee of the Regions invited mayors and representatives of local authorities to discuss the local impact of free movement within the EU. The conference stands for one of the five actions defined by the Commission to answer some concerns from Member States regarding the impact of free movement on EU citizens in general and local administrations in particular. The aim of the conference was to exchange experiences and successful practices on integration, and to explore the role of the EU in supporting local authorities in their social inclusion strategies.
There was a strong consensus amongst all delegates that free movement within the EU is a basic right for all EU citizens and should not be questioned. The European Commission representatives pointed out that EU internal migration is an asset for host countries, as a vast majority of EU nationals moving to another EU country do so to work, and thus contribute to the economies and welfare systems of their host countries. This was also confirmed by a study presented at the conference that focuses on the impact of migration in six European cities: Barcelona, Dublin, Hamburg, Lille, Prague and Turin. The study contains practices of various integration programmes that have had a positive impact on the local attitude towards migration. Local administrations play a key role in enforcing citizens’ free movement rights as they are often the first interface for citizens settling in a new city.
The practices presented at the conference aimed to develop a welcoming culture through accessible information (often provided in local service points), and trained social workers. Jan Pörksen, State Secretary in Hamburg, told delegates that reaching out to new citizens is very important in order to avoid exploitation and homelessness: “The problem is not the so-called ‘benefits-tourism’; there are differences in living standards within Europe and wrong expectations of some people coming to Hamburg. New migrants are often exploited because they do not know the language, the available services and their rights. Hamburg has established a service point to stop the exploitation andother methods to support fair working conditions.” Moreover, speakers emphasised the importance of language support and cooperation with schools. Representatives from Hamburg, Lisbon and Stockholm stressed that a quick validation of foreign qualifications is necessary to allow people to work in their jobs and to fill in the gaps in the labour market.
Affordable housing is a problem in London, Stockholm and Hamburg where different approaches, such as local contact points, mobile social workers, and an investment in social housing aim to prevent new foreigners from sleeping rough or being exploited by landlords. However, the study presented at the conference shows that mobile citizens often do not benefit from the same opportunities in housing as native citizens, and often the demand in housing is too highfor local authorities to be able to provide housing in a timely manner. Gilles Pargneaux, Vice-president of Eurometropolis Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai, explained: “In Lille we are able to house 1,500 people from 3,600, so the issue remains problematic.”
At the conference, delegates agreed that the majority of mobile workers within the EU are an asset to the economy and culture of the host country, and some sectors rely on foreign workforce. However, participants also underlined that there is a relatively small number of EU citizens “that fall through the system”, which puts some local educational, social and health systems under pressure. Especially West German cities reported a recent increase of people from Bulgaria and Romania who are unemployed low-skilled workers, who have no health insurance anddo not speak the language. In addition, their entitlement to unemployment benefits is still unclear, so that many are now only entitled to child benefit. Some cities have also had to cover health insurance payments, provide emergency housing or create several hundred new school places for non-German speakers in a short time. Representatives from West Germany emphasised that there was a need for more targeted financial support because the financial capacities of municipalities vary. Ullrich Sierau, Mayor of Dortmund underlined: “There is a need for cohesion between administrative levels: some poorer municipalities that are most affected are not able to implement integration policies. Yes, mobile workers contribute to our national welfare system, but we need to make sure that theircontribution is targeted and used in municipalities that need to set up new services, education and health provision. The study presented here does not show the whole reality, we need to look at specific local situations.”
Moreover, the role of the countries of origin, their economic situation and the possibility to return were discussed. Delegates agreed on the importance for economic development in these countries to balance European living standards. Vladimir Kissiov, municipal councillor in Sofia, highlighted the lack of high qualified workers in Bulgaria who benefit labour markets in richer western European countries. Ovidiu Portariuc, the Mayor of Botoşani in Romania, stressed: “It is a viscous circle for us because high skilled workers leave our country and we need to fill this gap. On the other side, we need to invest in programmes for social inclusion and try to reintegrate people who returned. We need to identify programmes for people to stay and support our regions.”
Financial support through the European Funds was also discussed, and some delegates noted difficulties in implementation, such as administrative problems and the low absorption rate non-take up of European Social Fund (ESF) funds from governmental level to regions. Viviane Reding, the EU's Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, underlined thatthe 20% of ESF that will go towards social inclusion needs to arrive where it is really needed.The Commission has therefore made the programmes easier for beneficiaries to use. She also stressed that a good cooperation between the national, regional and local levels are crucial to improve absorption of the funds and that the exchange of practices on free movement across the EU at local, regional and national level will be financed as a priority in the new Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme.
Resources:
Free movement of EU citizens and their families: Five actions to make a difference
European Commission upholds free movement of people
Impact of mobile EU citizens on national social security systems
Evaluation of the impact of the free movement of EU citizens at local level