Sprawozdanie z konferencji Burmistrzów Europejskich Miast na temat migracji wewnątrz-europejskiej

Brussels, 11 February 2014
Proceedings

2 Joint Conference of Mayors on the impact of intra-EU mobility of EU citizens at local level
CONTENTS
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Opening session . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Information session
EU policies on free movement and inclusion of the local level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Panel I
Experiences of cities:
implementing local policies on free movement and inclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Panel II
Implementing local policies on free movement and inclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Panel III
Implementing local policies on free movement and inclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Concluding speeches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Joint Conference of Mayors on the impact of intra-EU mobility of EU citizens at local level 3
INTRODUCTION
The right of EU citizens to freely move to and live in any EU country, along with
their family members, is one of the four fundamental freedoms enshrined in EU law
and a cornerstone of EU integration. For 56% of European citizens, free movement
is the most positive achievement of the European Union. Indeed, more and more
Europeans benefit from this right and live in another EU Member State: at the end
of 2012, 14.1 million citizens were living in a Member State other than their own. In
Eurobarometer surveys, more than two thirds of Europeans (67%) consider that free
movement of people within the EU has economic benefits for their country. Free
movement is not only fundamental for citizens; it also has positive effects on econo-
mies and labour markets as it creates the conditions for more efficient allocation of
resources within the EU. Free movement of EU citizens stimulates economic growth
by enabling people to travel, study and work across borders and by allowing employ-
ers to recruit from a larger talent pool. Free movement brings economic benefits not
only to those who move but also to those who have not exercised their right to move.
For the EU-15, GDP is estimated to have increased by almost 1 % in the long term
as a result of post-enlargement mobility (2004-2009).
In this context, the European Commission (DG JUST) and the Committee of the Re-
gions co-organised a Joint conference of Mayors on the impact of intra-EU mobility
of EU citizens at local level on 11 February 2014 in Brussels; an event which was
attended by more than 220 participants and followed by web-stream and video.
The aim of the conference was to share experiences and discuss“ideal” policies for
welcoming mobile EU citizens, policies that are manageable for local authorities and
benefit everyone. Local and regional authorities took the opportunity to make their
needs and concerns heard and to discuss possible solutions which can be adapted
to their specific situation.

Opening
László Andor, European Commissioner responsible for Employment, Social Affairs
and Inclusion, welcomed participants by video message to the joint European Com-
mission – Committee of the Regions conference on the local impact of intra-EU mo-
bility. Opening statements followed from Dimitrios Kafantaris, Mayor of Pylos, and
Mercedes Bresso, first Vice-President of the Committee of the Regions. The session
was chaired by Françoise Le Bail, Director-General for Justice, European Commis-
sion.
László Andor welcomed the event, which was intended to put into practice one of the
five actions presented in November 2013 in the EC Communication on “Free move-
ment of EU citizens and their families: Five actions to make a difference”, namely the
promotion of the exchange of best practice amongst local authorities. Mr Andor rec-
ognised that the movement of labour can lead to some challenges at local level. He
set the stage for the debate by stating that it is a joint responsibility of EU, national
and subnational stakeholders to uphold EU citizens’ rights to live and work in another
EU country, and he briefly outlined how the European Union provides support at local
level in tackling intra-EU mobility and reaping its benefits.
In 2013, the European Commission put forward a proposal for a directive that would
make it easier for workers to exercise their right to move. Once adopted by the Eu-
ropean Parliament and the Council, at least one body would be designated in each
Member State to assist employers, EU workers and their families. The Commission
also proposed strengthening EURES – the pan-European job research network. Fur-
thermore, from 2014 onwards, the European Social Fund will be able to support
transnational labour mobility and at least 20% of the fund would be used to promote
social inclusion and to fight poverty in the Member States. With 2 million vacancies
across the EU and 26.5 million unemployed Europeans, defending intra-EU mobility
is imperative in order to address imbalances and uphold one of the four fundamental
freedoms enshrined in EU law.

Dimitrios Kafantaris considered that providing the opportunity for representatives
of local authorities to exchange views and first-hand experience on how to cope with
mobility at local level was a tangible contribution to the principle of subsidiarity. He
referred to freedom of movement within the EU as a cornerstone of EU integration,
which is moreover reflected in the everyday life of EU citizens. This right has, there-
fore, to be defended resolutely.
Mr Kafantaris spoke from his experience as Mayor of a city of 21 000 inhabitants
that was visited by many EU citizens. Some of these purchased holiday homes and
some came to work in agricultural holdings on a seasonal basis. None were a burden
for the Greek economy or for the country’s welfare system, quite the contrary. His
experience confirmes, therefore, the findings of the European Commission’s recent
communication. He emphasised that difficulties created by a serious economic crisis
or abuse of rights should not be allowed to spoil the achievements of the European
project. The crisis has to be faced with dignity, citizens have to be allowed to take
advantage of the single market and the single currency. To this end, the role of local
authorities has to be boosted to guarantee the proper implementation of fundamen-
tal rights.
Mercedes Bresso introduced the Committee of the Regions as the “home in Brus-
sels” of local and regional representatives and as such a suitable venue for discuss-
ing such topical issues at the most relevant level. She recalled the kick-off event for
the 2013 European Year of Citizens and other activities throughout the year, show-
casing the close cooperation among EU institutions in highlighting the importance of
citizens’ rights and of making sure they can be exercised. Free movement is not up
for negotiation. The right to move and reside freely is the Treaty-based right which
EU citizens exercise most frequently and one that most EU citizens recognises and
identify with.
Ms Bresso went on to talk about the responsibility of elected politicians to base
their decisions on facts and figures, while taking into account citizens’ perceptions
and fears, but always treating these issues in an appropriate manner. While she was
invoking facts, she stated that there are obvious economic and social benefits to mo-
bility, in addition to intangible advantages gained by the mobile citizens themselves.
She regardes it as a duty for local politicians to put the discussion back into perspec-
tive and uphold the European idea, resisting the widespread use of a populist dis-
course with “charged” terms targeting vulnerable groups, such as “poverty migrants”
and “welfare tourism”. It is up to local politicians to demonstrate the willingness and
administrative capacity to tackle existing and potential problems, and to make sure
that the national level is listening to people’s concerns and will not breach their fun-
damental rights.
Mercedes Bresso
Dimitrios Kafantaris

Françoise Le Bail also based her statement on facts and figures. Free movement is
the right most cherished by EU citizens and a central element of the single market,
stimulating economic growth. According to the figures, 68% of mobile EU citizens
were working and among the rest were family members and students, who did not
constitute a burden for the host Member State. However, the debate was not only
about the economy; it is also about European values, about identity, and anxiety
related to globalisation and/or EU integration. The social aspects of mobility, such
as potential pressure on public services (e.g. housing, health, education), cannot be
ignored. The European Commission is ready to help based on its remit to fight any
abuse of those rights, which is detrimental to free movement. There were not many
instances of abuse, even though they always made the front pages. The Commis-
sion’s Communication issued last November contained five concrete actions to as-
sist local and regional authorities.
Ms Le Bail concluded by underlining that the current rules of free movement are not
up for negotiation. They are fair and already contain safeguards to prevent unreason-
able burdens on host countries. An online training module is envisaged by the end of
2014 to help local and regional authorities to apply the free movement rules.
Françoise Le Bail

Information session
EU policies on free movement and inclusion of the local level
Claudia Gallo from Ernst & Young presented the findings of the study commissioned
by the Directorate-General for Justice of the European Commission (DG Justice).
This was followed by statements by Armindo Silva, Director for Employment and
Social Legislation, Social Dialogue (Directorate-General for Employment, Social Af-
fairs and Inclusion) and Charlina Vitcheva, Director for Inclusive Growth, Urban and
Territorial Development and Northern Europe (Directorate-General for Regional and
Urban Policy). The session was chaired by Chiara Adamo, Head of Unit, Union Citi-
zenship and Free Movement, DG Justice.
Claudia Gallo gave a brief overview of the socio-economic impact of EU mobility at
local level and presented some examples from the six case studies carried out in
Barcelona, Dublin, Lille, Prague, Hamburg and Turin. Those cities were selected for
the study on the basis of the number of EU mobile citizens, the development of local
relevant policies, and to ensure a wide geographical coverage of the EU. There was
a multilevel governance approach to welcoming policies, where many actors contrib-
uted to their implementation. Evidence was found that EU mobile citizens contribute
to offset the challenges in terms of demographic ageing and gradual shrinking of
labour forces, to entrepreneurship, since most of them are young, fill the gaps in the
labour market, and support the development of some core sectors of the local econ-
omy; over-qualification and wage differentials were noted. Net economic benefits
were accompanied by a social impact, notably pressure on housing and education.
Finally, the presentation included some practical examples of best practices put for-
ward by the cities. Above all, it was reassuring to conclude that the attitude towards
mobility is generally improving, also thanks to proactive and inclusive local policies.
Armindo Silva stated that, although free movement has a solid legal underpinning
in the Treaty and secondary legislation, rights-based legislation was not sufficient
to ensure that such rights are fully exercised. Complementary policies are needed
to overcome hidden obstacles, insufficient enforcement of rights and inadequate
awareness of them among mobile workers. Indeed, while 56% of EU citizens perceiv
freedom of movement as a major achievement and 67% believe it brings economic
Claudia Gallo
Armindo Silva

benefits. However, 63% of mobile workers actually felt discriminated against. It was
clear that the free movement of labour brought economic benefits, but it was also
necessary to bear in mind the effects on sending communities, such as the loss
of skilled labour. For destination countries, there was a risk of social dumping that
could affect both mobile and local workers. Social inclusion might suffer due to the
strains on local resources and services. Circular mobility of the workforce needed to
be generated.
Mr Silva elaborated on the complementary policies put forward by the European
Commission, starting with the European Social Fund, amounting to at least 23% of
the cohesion policy budget for 2014-2020. The new ESF Regulation will make the
fund easier to use and more results-oriented. The European Code of Conduct on
Partnership, recently adopted, will be crucial for local authorities to receive timely
information on funds. It will also focus more on social inclusion - at least 20% of the
ESF is to be used from this objective, with additional funding available for support-
ing transnational mobility. In terms of ongoing work, Mr Silva mentioned the Social
Investment Package, which was intended to increase the efficiency of social policies,
the follow-up initiative to develop a Social Policy Knowledge Platform for identifying
common policy challenges and transferable good practice, and the creation of a Eu-
ropean Platform on Undeclared Work.
Charlina Vitcheva spoke about funding opportunities from European and Regional
Development Fund as a territorial development instrument and considered to what
extent EU mobility could be relevant for the urban dimension. This could potentially
be the case where intra-mobility is a challenge for sustainable urban development.
It was a crucial time in the programming period, with active discussions on drafting
and adopting strategic documents for using the funds available.
Active participation of local and regional authorities in the programming phase was
very important with a view to addressing local needs and challenges and ensuring
that the right priorities were covered. In addition, integrated approaches should make
full use of synergies among investment tools. The Integrated Territorial Investment
tool would thus help to structure investment based on local strategies. Ms Vitcheva
underlined the importance of a holistic approach to urban challenges, with 5% of
ERDF funding being allocated to integrated sustainable development projects based
on partnership strategies. The thematic area most relevant to the subject of intra-EU
mobility would be the regeneration of urban areas hosting vulnerable communities.
Chiara Adamo concluded by flagging three main concepts: the first was that free
movement of EU citizens is not only a cornerstone of the Single Market and benefi-
cial to all but became, since the Maastricht treaty 20 years ago, a fundamental right
for all EU citizens. Second, current EU rules provide for the necessary safeguards to
uphold this right while avoiding burdening national public pursues. Third, EU rules
and tools, including EU funding, exchanges of best practices and practical projects
such as the idea of developing an on-line training module to help local authorities to
implement free movement, are at the disposal of local and regional authorities and
require their active involvement - free movement was a joint responsibility.
Charlina Vitcheva
Chiara Adamo

Panel I:
Experiences of cities: Implementing local policies on free
movement and inclusion
The three panels focused on cities’ experiences in setting up and operating welcome
policies for mobile EU citizens. Local policies aimed at newcomers cover a wide
number of sectors: information offices at arrival, help in entering the local economy
and entering entrepreneurship, facilities to help foreign pupils in the education sys-
tem, promotion of multiculturalism and of an open society, promotion active civic
participation, and responses to inclusion challenges like poverty, unemployment,
poor housing, etc. In short, any policy aimed at including foreigners in the local com-
munity. Local policies do not follow a “one-size-fits-all” approach and are tailored to
the specific circumstances of the city concerned.
Panelists included mayors and representatives of cities from different EU countries.
Speakers introduced the audience to the profile of their cities and their populations,
the administrative structures put in place to implement welcome and other policies,
and sources of funding. They also shared their experiences, best practices and les-
sons learnt.
The first panel was chaired by Agnieszka Kudlinska, Director for Consultative Work
at the Committee of the Regions. Panelists included Anna König Jerlmyr, Vice-
Mayor of Stockholm in charge of Social Affairs, António Costa (PT/PES), Mayor of
Lisbon and chair of the CoR Commission for Citizenship, Governance, Institutional
and External Affairs (CIVEX) and Jan Pörksen, Hamburg State Secretary for Work,
Social Affairs, Family and Integration, who also spoke on behalf of the Association
of German Cities.
The chair introduced the panel by asking the speakers to share their cities’ views and
experiences on setting up an “ideal” welcome policy.Agnieszka Kudlinska

Anna König Jerlmyr explained that over almost 20 years since Sweden became a
member of the EU, the city of Stockholm has benefited immensely from migration,
having a diverse population mix where almost 20% of residents have a migration
background and represent 123 nationalities. She pointed out that Sweden has been
one of the few countries not to place restrictions on the free movement of EU nation-
als after successive waves of EU enlargements and said that nothing indicates that
such movements have placed a disproportionate burden on Sweden’s social welfare
system. However, she identified the economic crisis as a decisive factor behind the
decision of many EU citizens to relocate and agreed that some countries have been
hit particularly hard. Stockholm faced the particular challenge of a number of recent
arrivals - including some EU mobile citizens - ending up unemployed and homeless
and having to resort to begging to survive.
Ms König Jerlmyr mentioned that the city of Stockholm has put in place many success-
ful programmes designed to tackle the challenges met by new arrivals and faced by
the city and its population. For instance, the city has offered emergency support to for-
eigners, set up homeless shelters and conducted outreach campaigns through social
workers. The city has also helped those EU nationals who wanted to go back to their
countries of origin but did not have the means to do so, through voluntary return pro-
grammes. The “Crossroads support programme for the labour market” was mentioned
as an example of best practice. Partially funded through the ESF, it targeted both mobile
EU nationals and third-country nationals legally resident in Stockholm. It was run by the
Stockholm city mission, the Salvation Army and the public employment agency of Swe-
den. Multilingual and multidisciplinary staff have offered courses in Swedish and foreign
languages, helped foreigners in finding work and offered support. The programme has
also involved cooperation with the embassies of the countries of origin.
Ms König Jerlmyr wound up by underlining the importance of improving education
and making micro-credit available to foreign residents for starting up businesses.
She recommended that the European Commission help Member States and local
authorities in coordinating support from the ESF and the Migration and Asylum Fund
in finding long term solutions on combating poverty and increasing labour market
participation. She expressed the hope that an EU-wide version of the Crossroads
programme could assist mobile EU citizens in need of emergency support.
António Costa Ms König Jerlmyr mentioned that the city of Stockholm has put in
place many successful programmes designed to tackle the challenges met by new
arrivals and faced by the city and its population. For instance, the city has offered
emergency support to foreigners, set up homeless shelters and conducted outreach
campaigns through social workers. The city has also helped those EU nationals who
wanted to go back to their countries of origin but did not have the means to do
so, through voluntary return programmes. The “Crossroads support programme for
the labour market” was mentioned as an example of best practice. Partially funded
through the ESF, it targeted both mobile EU nationals and third-country nationals
legally resident in Stockholm. It was run by the Stockholm city mission, the Salvation
Army and the public employment agency of Sweden. Multilingual and multidiscipli-
nary staff have offered courses in Swedish and foreign languages, helped foreigners
in finding work and offered support. The programme has also involved cooperation
with the embassies of the countries of origin.
António Costa
Anna König Jerlmyr

Mr Costa stressed that Lisbon has an active integration policy and mentioned one-
stop shop facilities for foreigners, the availability of Portuguese courses and work
on intercultural and inter-religious dialogues as examples.. He also mentioned the
municipal council on interculturalism as an example of administrative structure put in
place to facilitate inclusion and participation. Mr Costa noted that the city of Lisbon
is focusing on projects in neighbourhoods where foreigners are prevalent and, as an
example, pointed to the move of the Mayor’s office to one such neighbourhood.. He
called for an end to be put to the brain drain. He reiterated that successful inclusion
policies depend on cooperation between national and local levels, in a spirit of multi-
level governance, so as to guarantee mutual respect of competences and consistent
allocation of resources.
Mr Costa also referred to the CoR’s work on Union citizenship and free movement.
He mentioned in particular the recent opinion on the 2013 Report on EU Citizenship,
which underlines that free movement is a cornerstone of the EU’s further economic
and political development, opens up professional and learning opportunities for EU
citizens and creates closer bonds between Europeans, making it a central element
of Union citizenship.
In conclusion, Mr Costa stressed that “benefit tourism” is not an overwhelming re-
ality. Most mobile EU citizens are motivated by work. He cautioned that countries
of destination wanting to limit flows today might become tomorrow’s countries of
origin. He urged those countries not to penalise their citizens and jeopardise their
chances of personal development. He pointed out that the EU is based on reciproc-
ity and solidarity.
Jan Pörksen presented the city of Hamburg, which is a multi-ethnic place where
50% of children attending the city’s schools have a migrant background. Hamburg
pursues an integrated urban policy where the public debate is inclusive and the city
views all its residents as “citizens” of Hamburg. He mentioned the city’s strategy
of increasing the numbers of people with a migrant background in the city-state’s
public administration locally and the practice of Hamburg’s First Mayor of personally
addressing all foreign residents when they become eligible for German citizenship as
good examples of this strategy (“Hamburg my harbour! Germany my home!” cam-
paign).
Mr Pörksen also addressed the issue of work-motivated mobility, mentioning that
Hamburg depends on skilled labour and acknowledging that foreign arrivals in many
cases met those needs by providing highly qualified but also highly skilled individu-
als for the city’s production sectors. He also underlined the need for Hamburg to
continue working on consolidating its welcome culture and service infrastructure. For
instance, the system for recognising formal and informal qualifications, with scholar-
ships also provided, aims to attain this goal.
Mr Pörksen also described the challenges Hamburg faced in ensuring the inclusion
of new arrivals. While he acknowledged that similar challenges were faced by other
cities, he stressed that it had been a mistake not to grant full right of movement
directly upon EU enlargement. By way of example, he described the experience of
Polish, and more recently Bulgarian and Romanian, nationals seeking work in the city
as self-employed people. Nowadays - with the advent of full freedom of movement
Jan Pörksen

- these individuals are shifting to steady paid employment, with a concomitant posi-
tive impact on the city’s tax and social contribution income. He noted that housing
has been one of the challenges faced by the city of Hamburg, where the high cost of
housing has affected newcomers in particular and discouraged families from mov-
ing to the city. The City of Hamburg has set up a housing service information point
for mobile EU workers, where newly arrived workers can seek advice on their rights
but also protection and shelter if they find themselves in difficult circumstances. The
centre is staffed with multilingual and multidisciplinary personnel and works in close
cooperation with various embassies and NGOs. For those who decide to return to
their country of origin, it could also provide financial and practical assistance. Finally,
Mr Pörksen referred to the work of the Association of German Cities, which has set
up a task force on poverty migration.
A lively debate followed the panelists’ statements. Representatives of a number of
German cities spoke, including the Chief Administrator Officer of Duisburg, Rein-
hold Spaniel, and the Mayor of Dortmund, Ullrich Sierau. These cities also shared
their concerns and experiences. Representatives of NGOs and civil society organi-
sations explained the challenges faced in accessing finance and working with local
authorities. The issue of access to jobs and recognition of qualifications also featured
prominently in the debate. Members of the audience also wanted to know how differ-
ent cities do outreach work. Although speakers drew attention to the different types
of challenges facing different cities, there was agreement that freedom of movement
should not be called into question. Cities called for more targeted use of EU funding
both in the countries of destination and - equally importantly - in countries of origin.
Speakers and participants alike referred to the importance of using EU cohesion
policy instruments in an integrated and effective way in order to combat poverty and
exclusion. One speaker suggested that local authorities of different member states
could exchange experiences with a view to capacity-building.
The debate was closed by a comment from Viviane Reding, Vice-President of the
European Commission. Ms Reding picked up on the issue of EU funding and men-
tioned that the European Commission is providing assistance to Member States in
view of increasing their absorption capacity and of making useful and targeted in-
vestments. She encouraged cities and regions to address national governments with
their concerns and funding requests. An example was the EU framework for national
Roma integration strategies, under which all 28 Member States presented national
strategies to tackle housing, health, work and education issues.
Viviane Reding
Ullrich Sierau

Panel II:
Experiences of cities: Implementing local policies on free
Richard Blakeway, London’s Deputy Mayor for Housing, Land and Property, Ovidiu
Portariuc, Mayor of Boto¸sani Municipality, Romania, and Gilles Pargneaux, Mem-
ber of the European Parliament and Vice-President of Eurometropolis Lille-Kortrijk-
Tournai shared their experiences in the panel debate moderated by Chiara Adamo,
Head of Unit for Union Citizenship and Free Movement, DG Justice, European Com-
mission.
Richard Blakeway urged the importance of recognising existing challenges, such as
cultural, language challenges or homeless people. One third of homeless people in
London came from Europe and among those 72% from recent accession countries,
with Poland, Romania and Lithuania ranking highest for the last four years. Policies
need to look at raising awareness about challenges faced by mobile citizens; un-
derstanding would prevent some of the unsuccessful experiences. Comprehensive
data-gathering across Europe would be required in support of such policies. A sec-
ond avenue to explore would be voluntary reconnection in association with charity
organisations in the country of origin. A framework of such associations could be
developed across Europe.
Richard Blakeway

Ovidiu Portariuc expressed his concern about any re-thinking of fundamental val-
ues based on perceptions, which would represent a risk to the credibility and ulti-
mately the viability of the European project. He also drew attention to the dangers of
misusing terminology. There is a fundamental difference between a “(third-country)
migrant” and an “EU citizen enjoying the right of free movement”. Intentional misuse
of these terms is spreading an anti-European message, and speaking about “intra-
EU migration” is against the European spirit. He expressed regret that the study
commissioned by the European Commission did not always seem accurate as for
the terminology used.
Mr Portariuc insisted that there should be a balanced debate about the local impact
of the free movement of EU citizens. To restrict this debate to vulnerable categories
such as the Roma or low-skilled workers is ignoring the reality, which confirms the
economic benefits enjoy by Member States which receive mobile workers. The idea
that social security systems are being abused is exaggerated. Contrary to the cam-
paigns against Romanian workers, the facts show that the UK’s health care system
is supported by Romanian doctors and nurses. A lot was invested in their country of
origin for their training. He is, therefore, very interested in cooperation on “welcoming
home” projects to address the brain drain and the causes which made them leave.
Mr Portariuc is convinced that the costs of integration were higher at the destination
and hoped that the European Commission would support special programmes, in-
cluding for the North-Est region in Romania, one of the poorest regions. Natural flows
cannot be stopped as long as wide disparities exist.
Referring to the local community in Botosani, located in the North-Est region of Ro-
mania and bordering on the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine, Mr Portariuc men-
tioned work on social housing for vulnerable people. During the last three years, six
projects have been implemented with EU co-financing to promote social inclusion of
vulnerable people, notably Roma, by providing, for example, support for completion
of mandatory schooling. Mr Portariuc concluded by welcoming the opportunity for
exchanging lessons learned that would make it possible to maximise the potential of
free movement.
Gilles Pargneaux spoke from the perspective of the 2 million inhabitants of the Eu-
rometropolis Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai. As a successful example of a European Grouping
of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC), the initiative has facilitated cross-border coop-
eration among the 147 communes involved and is having a positive effect on their
development. Even if they have different administrative systems, their representa-
tives have been developing a common strategy for promoting the implementation
of projects, such as enhanced cooperation between poles of excellence (scientific
and technology entities) or a Cross-Border Employment Forum. 30% of EU citizens
in their territory come from Portugal, Belgium, Italy, Poland and Spain, with above all
the numbers from Belgium rising in recent years.
Mr Pargneaux reported that the Eurometropolis is looking forward to welcoming even
more European citizens, as people have experienced how exchanges with the rest
of Europe can transform and regenerate cities (e. g. Lille as a European Capital of
Culture). Measures are being put in place to attract young people, notably help-
ing foreign university graduates to get established (mostly from Belgium, Romania
and Bulgaria at present), providing a guide for newcomers in their mother tongue.
Gilles Pargneaux
Ovidiu Portariuc

It is also planned to create an international strand in university curricula by introduc-
ing an intercultural module or a study period abroad.
During the audience debate, Heinz Becker, an Austrian member of the European
Parliament, took the floor to call for joint responsibility to be taken and political forces
that induce fear and propagated discrimination to be curbed. He applauded the Eu-
ropean Commission for engaging with local representatives, who are aware of what
is happening and what citizens are going through. There is a need for “benchle- arn-
ing”. In Austria it has been proven that EU mobile citizens have contributed more to
social services than they have received. The balance has, thus, been positive. There
are measures to deal with people who abuse the social benefits system; if Member
States have not used them, they only have to blame themselves. “We should not be
naive, but we need to make it clear that we benefit”, he said.
Ewa Sadowska, CEO of the Polish association Barka presented the model system
for inclusion of long-term unemployed developed by her association. The Barka as-
sociation has already been invited by local authorities in London, Hamburg, Dublin
and the Netherlands to cooperate in the field of voluntary reconnection. Part of the
association’s success is due to the staff employed by Barka, namely former home-
less people whose personal experience has been crucial. She also considered that
the social economy has been important in helping people improve their lot. Social
enterprises made up for 7% of employment in the EU and are a model which could
be applied to African countries. Barka has been approached by the African diaspora
in Europe and joint projects in Kenya and Ethiopia could be envisaged .
Jan Pörksen, Hamburg State Secretary for Work, Social Affairs, Family and Integra-
tion, pointed to some misreading of the figures. According to the figures, the official
count of mobile citizens from Romania and Bulgaria is low. This is due to the fact
Heinz Becker
Ewa Sadowska

that laws of the host Member States prevent them for claiming social security. There
are, however, more citizens without jobs and needing assistance outside the regular
social security system.
The panel responded to a comment from the audience about the existence of net-
works of charity organisations and NGOs working with marginalised people, al-
though, regretfully, local and regional authorities are squeezing their budget and
placing restrictions on the support provided by those organisations. Mr Blakeway
acknowledged that the level of engagement of civil society, though very important,
varies considerably across the EU. In his view, this is not only a question of funding,
but also of the way in which services are commissioned to NGOs. Mr Pargneaux
agreed that the role of NGOs should be boosted, that they need to be included more
in partnerships at EU level and given a new status to accomplish the tasks of public
service. Mr Portariuc recognised the active role of NGOs and considered that the
main obstacle faced by them in Romania is not lack of partnerships, but of financing.
Finally all the participants agreed to a balanced approach in the debate, without
questioning European principles, but also without ignoring problems where they
arose. Chiara Adamo closed the session by pointing out that the aim of the Ernst &
Young study commissioned by the European Commission has not been to generalise
the findings into a one-size-fits-all scenario but to kick start an exchange among lo-
cal authorities. The current legal framework at EU level is sufficient to tackle potential
problems, since it contains adequate safeguards, even though obviously there is
more behind the dry reality of the law.

Panel III:
Experiences of cities: implementing local policies on free
The third panel was chaired by Lieve Fransen, Director “Europe 2020 and Social
Policies”, at DG Employment of the European Commission. The panel consisted
of Marnix Norder, Deputy Mayor of The Hague in charge of Urban Development,
Public Housing and Integration, and Vladimir Kissiov, Municipal Councillor of Sofia
municipality and First Vice-Chair of the CoR Commission for Citizenship, Govern-
ance, Institutional and External Affairs (CIVEX).
Marnix Norder introduced The Hague’s experience with migration and mobility. His
city, also known as the City of Peace, has become multi-ethnic, with 7% of its popu-
lation from a migrant background. He acknowledged that mobility has brought ben-
efits to his city, while noting that it has also given rise to challenges at city level in
terms of housing, urban planning and employment. In extreme cases phenomena
such as criminality and homelessness have been observed. Mr Norder appealed to
Brussels to help cities find solutions to these challenges.
Mr Norder also referred to locally implemented policies that have proved success-
ful in facilitating the inclusion of newcomers, for instance adult language learning
and education modules targeted at EU mobile citizens, as well as public information
desks set up together with the Foundation for The Hague and Central Europe, a lo-
cal NGO. These initiatives have benefited a large number of migrants in the Hague
metropolitan area. With the help of Barka, a Polish NGO, The Hague has also tried
to address homelessness by helping 50% of the homeless population return to their
countries of origin.
Mr Norder put forward some suggestions and recommendations for policy-makers
Marnix Norder
Lieve Fransen

at all levels. Research should be done at the local and national level in order to
gain a fuller picture of the situation. Measures should also be taken to ease social
tensions; otherwise there is a risk of populist politicians capitalising on unfounded
fears. Finally, he called for more support from the EU level to cities in setting up
and implementing non-discrimination policies taking into account the needs of all
members of the society, including the “local” and “foreign” populations. In his view,
cities are faced with different but similar problems, which should also be addressed
at the EU level by providing support for locally sourced solutions. He encouraged all
players to take responsibility and emphasised the importance of financial support.
He also underlined the importance of a transparent and fully legal labour market with
structures in place to detect and prevent undeclared work. He finally called for meas-
ures designed to tackle the perceived brain drain in the mobile citizens’ countries of
origin. Mr Norder concluded by expressing the hope that free movement would be
strengthened by effective measures, and underlined the shared responsibility of all
levels of governance in realising this objective. He stressed that shedding light on the
facts would be the only way to silence populist voices.
Vladimir Kissiov started his statement by noting that the terms “migrant” and “EU
citizen” have become conflated and reminded the audience that the subject of the
conference was mobile EU citizens. He underlined the fact that in the overwhelming
majority of cases mobile EU citizens are net contributors in terms of taxes and social
security.
Referring to his city, Sofia, one of the 20 largest cities in Europe, Mr Kissiov 1 noted
that mobility is not a new phenomenon. To date, mobility in Bulgaria has been internal,
with people converging on the capital. However, with EU accession some citizens of
Sofia have also exercised their right to move to another EU member state for work
reasons. Mr Kissiov explained that this has put a strain on the city’s social and health Vladimir Kissiov

infrastructure, in which there is, for example, a shortage of qualified personnel. He
also noted that the “tsunami” of Bulgarian and Romanian job-seekers has not materi-
alised after the full implementation of freedom of movement on 1 January 2014.
Mr Kissiov referred to the issue of EU funding, admitting that in Bulgaria there have
been low take-up rates for the cohesion and structural funds; this can be attributed
to different factors, including time-consuming procedures, lack of political will, poor
administrative capacity and corruption. In his view, Bulgaria could benefit from in-
creased monitoring and assistance in combating corruption.
Mr Kissiov concluded by expressing strong support for freedom of movement, which
in his view is an integral element of the single market. He urged politicians at all levels
to see things in perspective and not to overreact. He emphasised that free move-
ment is not without qualifications, underlining that the EU has put in place rules but
also practical tools to help crack down on abusive exercise of this right. In his view,
politicians should apply the law instead of giving in to populism or euro-scepticism
by putting free movement into question. Making a link with the upcoming European
elections, he stressed the need to send out a message of peace to citizens reminding
themof the origins of the European project. He commented that the conference has
been organised at a very timely moment, when all Europeans should reflect about
the future of the EU.
A lively debate followed the panelists’ statements. Participants from the audience
insisted on the need for better information about mobility, including the risks as-
sociated with it, in both cities of origin and destination. Joachim Stamp, a member
of the Land parliament of Nordrhein-Westfalen, spoke about the experience in his
region with social exclusion of vulnerable people and asked for practical advice from
the EU level on providing solutions at regional and local level. Uwe Zimmermann,

Deputy Secretary-General of the German Association of Towns and Municipalities,
emphasised the need for solidarity between towns and cities in Europe and pointed
to the need to continue investing in language training and social skills. Mariana
Gâju, Mayor of Cumpa”na and CoR membe, spoke in her capacity as Vice-President
of the Romanian Association of Municipalities. She emphasised that free movement
is a fundamental right which reflects European values, and underlined the duty of all
Europeans to defend it. She also spoke of the importance of the structural and cohe-
sion funds, under the new multiannual financial framework, for fostering the social
and economic development of countries such as Romania.

Concluding speeches
CoR President Ramón Luis Valcárcel Siso said that the conference has significant
added value for the Committee of the Regions and for local and regional representa-
tives with experience on the ground. He reiterated that freedom of movement and
residence is one of the cornerstones of the European project and - as the most well-
known EU citizens’ right - has proved to be a source of opportunity for all citizens.
The CoR President reminded the audience of some of the key features of free move-
ment: it provides a response to labour market shortages in the internal market and
helps citizens strengthen their competences and knowledge. The President used
examples of his home region of Murcia to illustrate this. He acknowledged that the
economic crisis has increased pressure on the more vulnerable tiers of society and
so prompted mobility, which has had repercussions on public services at local and
regional level. He nevertheless stressed that even though maintaining the quality of
the European social model necessarily carries a high cost, this does not justify call-
ing into question the right of free movement. In this connection, the CoR President
also expressed concern about the result of the recent Swiss referendum (9 February
2014), which could be a disastrous example to Europe.
The CoR President closed by reminding everybody present of their obligation to
defend free movement, which he described as a historic achievement that must not
be negated. He reiterated that the CoR, local and regional authorities are poised
to continue their cooperation with the European Commission in safeguarding and
strengthening EU citizens’ rights, and underlined that politicians have a duty to guar-
antee every citizen the opportunity to flourish in shared prosperity.
Ramón Luis Valcárcel Siso

Viviane Reding, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for Jus-
tice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, noted that the common European area is
an area where capital, goods, services and people circulate freely. She emphasised
that the four fundamental freedoms are inseparable. Ms Reding underlined that none
of the conference participants questioned free movement as a basic citizens’ right.
Local authorities were on the front line when it came to implementing free movement
rules and making them work. The conference has been an opportunity to listen to
local representatives, find out what challenges they are facing on the ground and
discuss how best to get EU funding for social inclusion purposes where it needs to
go . Vice-President Reding observed that there is no one single solution for the chal-
lenges arising from free movement and she thanked the conference participants for
sharing their experiences. The Commission Vice-President stressed that local and
regional authorities play a very important role in making EU rules accessible and
understandable to citizens.
She emphasised the need to avoid simplistic, ideological and nationalist speech, and
stressed that this is possible only in full knowledge of the facts and data supporting
the arguments. She reiterated that mobility provides advantages to local populations
and mobile citizens alike. She also underlined the importance of fair treatment and
non-discrimination. Ms Reding repeated that 20% of the European Social Fund re-
sources, i.e. around EUR 80 billion, have been earmarked by the European Commis-
sion to support local authorities in promoting social inclusion and she pointed to the
importance of information in helping to target spending at areas where help is most
needed. She also reminded the conference participants that EU rules and tools en-
able Member States and cities to address abuse. Ms Reding emphasised that from
the Conference discussions, it emerged that the real problem is not abuse, but pov-
erty, and she urged all levels of responsibility - local, regional, national and European
- to cooperate in eradicating poverty both in the destination cities and in the cities of
origin. To that end, the contribution of transnational networks is very important. She
closed the conference by saying that the European Commission is keen to listen to
cities and will thus continue to hold similar dialogues with mayors.
Viviane Reding

The European Commission (DG JUSTICE) and the Committee of the Regions co-organised
a Joint conference of Mayors on the impact of intra-EU mobility of EU citizens at local level
on 11 February 2014 in Brussels, an event that was attended by more than 220 participants
and followed by web-stream and video.
More information:
http://cor.europa.eu/en/events/Pages/conference-of-mayors-on-eu-mobility-.aspx
Brussels, 11 February 2014
Proceedings

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