Close to half of the European citizens currently see the EU's immigration challenge as the most pressing issue in Europe (48%) and expect more European action. Local and regional authorities are on the frontline of these challenges but also at the heart of the solution as they are often the first points of contact to the arriving migrants. A well-functioning European migration policy needs to take into account the views, experiences and expectations of these local and regional authorities.
On the invitation of Apostolos Tzitzikostas, Governor of the Region of Central Macedonia and EPP-CoR President Michael Schneider, the EPP Group in the European Committee of the Regions will meet in Thessaloniki on 16 September to take stock of the situation and find common responses for the future.
The EPP Group in the European Committee of the Regions
and the Region of Central Macedonia,Greece
invite you to the conference:
The role of the EU's regional and local authorities in addressing the refugee crisis: our common challenge, our collective response
With the participation of high-level speakers including Dimitris Avramopoulos - EU Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, Kyriakos Mitsotakis - President of Nea Dimokratia and Kinga Gàl - Vice-President of the EPP and Member of the European Parliament, Europe's local and regional leaders will debate the Commission's main proposals regarding the European migration agenda. They will also review the new EU funding possibilities in the area, exchange views and best practices on humanitarian aid and assess EU measures safeguarding the external borders.
Other speakers will include José Carreira - Executive Director, European Asylum Support Office (EASO), Daniel Esdras - Chief of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) mission in Greece, Jean-Louis De Brouwer - European Commission, Grigorios Apostolou - Head of Greece FRONTEX Liaison Office, Hans Janssen - Mayor of Oisterwijk (The Netherlands) and Christos Dimopoulos - Doctors of the World.
You may find more information on the event, including the agenda, speakers and contacts on its dedicated website at:
http://europa.eu/!fU33RUThe event will be webstreamed at
epp.cor.europa.euPlease use
#EPPrefugeeconf on social media.
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