{"id":6729,"date":"2021-04-23T10:32:31","date_gmt":"2021-04-23T10:32:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greens-efa.eu\/dossier\/?p=6729"},"modified":"2021-05-06T07:51:31","modified_gmt":"2021-05-06T07:51:31","slug":"europe-says-refugees-welcome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greens-efa.eu\/dossier\/europe-says-refugees-welcome\/","title":{"rendered":"Europe says “Refugees Welcome!”"},"content":{"rendered":"
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New map shows solidarity with asylum seekers<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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26.04.2021<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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An opinion by Damian Boeselager<\/a>, Saskia Bricmont<\/a>, Damien Car\u00eame<\/a>, Tineke Strik,<\/a><\/strong> Ernest Urtasun<\/a>, Alice Bah Kuhnke<\/a>, Erik Marquardt<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Check our new\ninteractive map<\/em><\/a> to see\nwhat your town has done to support, resettle and welcome refugees and asylum\nseekers.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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We are proud to launch a new\ninteractive tool, EuropeWelcomes.org<\/a>, to showcase the success\nstories behind the cities and municipalities across Europe that have opened\ntheir doors to refugees.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Refugees are welcome in Europe\u2019s towns<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Over a thousand European municipalities <\/strong>have declared their willingness to welcome asylum seekers and refugees. So far, 17 out of 27 EU countries (plus the UK, Switzerland, Iceland and Norway) have cities that have volunteered their support to refugees.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Europe\u2019s citizens are welcoming\nrefugees with open arms. Towns, cities and regions are declaring their\ncommunity a welcoming place for asylum seekers. This clearly debunks the dangerous myths about refugees<\/a>\nthat we hear from the media and challenges the divisive messages claiming that\n\u201cthe EU is full\u201d and that refugees are not welcome, spread by some of our\ngovernments set on closing our borders.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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“Our Europe Welcomes Map shows that hundreds of towns, cities and, regions across Europe have volunteered to open their doors to some of the most vulnerable people in Europe. It is clear that local communities need to be a big piece of the puzzle for the future EU asylum policy. Greens\/EFA MEPs are pushing for municipalities to receive direct funds, which can help them meet their local needs while welcoming those in need. Fostering a welcoming culture will help us build an alternative and more humane asylum system.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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— Damian Boeselager<\/strong>, Volt MEP and Greens\/EFA Substitute Member of the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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\u201cThe so-called migration crisis is a crisis of solidarity! The Pact on Asylum and Migration only aims at putting more obstacles in the way of those looking for refuge in the EU. For years now, cities and local authorities across Europe have put welcome and solidarity as a priority in their actions toward refugees. This is a very concrete and effective solution to the humanitarian crisis taking place at the EU borders.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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— Saskia Bricmont,<\/strong> Greens\/EFA MEP, member of the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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We need our national governments to show solidarity now!<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Despite the willingness of people\nacross the EU to show compassion, shelter and assistance to refugees, efforts\nto receive those in need and to offer refugees protection are blocked by our\nnational governments.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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In the negotiations on the EU’s Asylum Pact<\/a>, the Greens\/EFA are calling for a more active role for municipalities. We believe that the future EU solidarity system should build on voluntary solidarity first, by taking into account the large willingness to welcome refugees as demonstrated by so many municipalities. Financial incentives and direct funding to municipalities and regions receiving asylum seekers and refugees could be provided by the EU. This could help the municipalities to improve their local infrastructure for the local population, enhance their integration programmes and give asylum seekers and refugees a proper welcome.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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\u201cAs mayor of a municipality in the North of France until 2019, I participated in the foundation of the ANVITA association – the association of welcoming cities and territories – which I co-chair with Jeanne Barseghian, ecologist mayor of Strasbourg. Thanks to the elected representatives and citizens I meet regularly in the field, thanks to the experience of my city where we opened a reception camp for refuge seekers who would otherwise have remained in the cold and mud, in inhuman conditions, I know how welcoming and supportive European citizens are. All we need to do is communicate, exchange and share experiences and good practices so that action can follow. This is what we hope to do with this \u00ab Europe Welcome \u00bb map: to show solidarity wherever it flourishes in Europe and to gather and encourage solidarity impulses.\u201d<\/em>
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— Damien Car\u00eame,<\/strong> Greens\/EFA MEP from the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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“There are cities\nin Europe that are willing to open their doors to welcome refugees. However, the current EU\npolicy does not allow it to be properly implemented. It is necessary to\novercome the policies of the past that force people to spend months and years\nin refugee camps with no hope of changing their situation. The new tool we are launching\ntoday, EuropeWelcomes.org, will show that there is a different face to Europe,\nwhich stands up against and opposes the rhetoric of extreme right-wing hatred\nand unfair treatment at the EU\u2019s borders.”<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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— Ernest Urtasun, <\/strong>Greens\/EFA MEP, Vice-President of the Greens\/EFA Group <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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\u2018What can I do to help refugees in my community?\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Check out the\ninteractive Europe Welcomes map<\/a> to discover the communities that are\nwilling to welcome refugees. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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