On the 9th of December, EURADA attended the Final Conference of the JRC ERA International Migrants in Functional Urban Areas, hosted by the Regional Studies Association (RSA) in cooperation with the Joint Research Center (JRC). The event was aimed at : (i) presenting the Joint Research Center's report ”A place-based approach to migrant integration”, (ii) providing a discussion with officials from the European Commission on how to support migrant’s integration at local level by adequate measures and funding, in addition to (iii) presenting relevant insights on the specificities of integrated urban strategies in the case studies cities of Athens, Liège, Malmö, Paris and Venice.
The JRC had the purpose of shedding light on the questions whether and how urban and territorial strategies promoted by the European Union can contribute to the integration and inclusion of international migrants in the local context. The research is based on the experience of the EU Cohesion Policy throughout the 2014-2020 programming cycle, which was focused on three important strategies: Sustainable Urban Development (SUD), Integrated Territorial Investment (ITI) and Community-led Local Development (CLLD). Furthermore, the research brings innovative and practical insights, by connecting in-depth case studies based on data gathered by local academia, with the analysis carried out on EU-level.
Within the introductory remarks of the event, speakers outlined some perspectives regarding the far-reaching implications of the JRC study.Alessandro Rainoldi (Head of Unit, Urban and Territorial Development at the Joint Research Centre, European Commission), highlighted the importance of understanding territorial dynamics and harnessing them for better policy making. Furthermore, the study aims to contribute to a better understanding on how place-based policies can tackle issues related to specific categories of migrants, in order not to leave anybody behind. Moreover, the study proposed views on how to better harness resources. Dario Tarchi (Acting Head of Unit- Demography, Migration and Governance at the Joint Research Centre, European Commission) emphasized that the report provides relevant insights concerning the mixing of placed-based policies. In this regard, the multidisciplinary background proves to be instrumental for policy making. Sandrine Labory (Director at RSA Europe and Associate Professor, University of Ferrara), delivered an overview on the Regional Studies Association (RSA) Europe and its main objectives, events and activities, as well as publications. Furthermore, the RSA director highlighted the important engagement of various partners involved in the research process.
The first session was kicked-off by Carlotta Fioretti from the JRC, who presented the project ”A Place-based Approach to Migrant Integration”. Ms. Fioretti further outlined the policy context, outlining the integration of migrants as a key priority of the European Commission. In addition, the need to create synergies with other EU Funds is strongly encouraged. The research outlined strategies and projects which target areas associated with indicators of socio-economic and spatial disadvantage and where high percentage of migrants live. Nonetheless, research shows that the migrants themselves were rarely involved in the design, implementation and monitoring of the strategies and projects. The research outline the important outcome that working at the scale of the Functional Urban Areas has an added value. To this extent, a cross-sectoral approach highly important, as barriers to the inclusion of migrants in the governance system still persist. The research recommends to mix place-based approach with the people-based one.
Otilia Ciobanu (DG Regio, European Commission) explored the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Support for the Integration of People with a Migrant Background. She provided an overview of the main available instruments in the framework of the ERDF, which can contribute to the integration of people with a migrant background. Ms. Ciobanu presented the ERDF related regulation, measures, as well as main features of the Cohesion Policy and other initiatives which can support integration related policy making. Moreover, it was outlined the importance of orienting and connecting policies and interventions at local level, as well as fostering effective partnerships that have the potential to drive meaningful collaboration.
Grzegorz Gajewski (DG Home- European Commission) spoke about Integration of Migrants: Creating Sustainable Dynamics and Impacts. She brought into discussion the creation of sustainable dynamics and their impact on migrant integration. Mr. Gajewski outlined the importance of empowering migrant people and organisations supporting them, through targeted measures and the mainstreaming of these efforts. The mainstreaming of the actions could be done through initiatives such as fostering participation and encounters with the host communities. Mr. Gajewski concluded his intervention by presenting the 4 Ps framework, respectively: Policies to frame actions, Potential offered by the migrants, Partnership between relevant actors, Performance of the funding, as a strategic approach to harness connections between policy areas and actions.
Furthermore, the experts subsequently joined a round table aiming at sharing insights on migrants’ integration specificities in each city.
Paola Briata(Polytechnic University of Milan), highlighted that the city of Venice has developed its own policy style as an arrival city. Strategies were conceived for the long term basis and the goal was to support immigrants who wanted to stay and integrate, through the employment of participatory approaches.
Marco Cremaschi (Sciences Po Paris), outlined the specificities and challenges of the city of Paris. The research concluded that France deploys a strong national framework of social policies to integrate migrants targeting the neighbourhoods where those in the most vulnerable conditions are concentrated.
Nikos Karadimitriou(University College, London), presented the case of Athens, mentioning that the documents and policies guiding the SUD strategy should incorporate migrant and refugee integration.
Jérémy Mandin (University of Liège),discussed the urban landscape of Liege from a migration outlook, concluding that the way in which local stakeholders and institutions perceive and consider the local population in the implementation of the projects varies considerably, depending on the different projects.
Erica Righard (Malmö University), outlined that results show that in Malmö the implementation of the SUD and CLLD strategies function under distinct conditions.
In the ending remarks,it was outlined that the issue of migrant integration is here to stay. Moreover, social policies alone will not achieve an effective integration of migrants. Therefore, local authorities are at the frontline, as enablers of migrant integration. Furthermore, the EU should convey a clear message to urban authorities regarding their role in designing future-proof policies.
Further information:
Final Conference of the JRC ERA "International Migrants in Functional Urban Areas"
