A public consultation to tell the European Commission what the EU should do to promote the social inclusion and integration of migrants was launched earlier today and will be available online until 21st October. The European Commission is also looking for candidates to establish an expert group of people who have first-hand experience with migration, so that they may help outline migration, asylum and social inclusion policies that are “more effective and better tailored to real needs”, the European Commission’s notice says. The coronavirus crisis has showed, once again, that “migrants and refugees make a crucial contribution to our societies”, even if they are often confronted with the problem of finding a home and a job, or having access to education and healthcare, the Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, stated in announcing the consultation, which will help “design future actions about social inclusion that may improve the quality of life and make our societies more cohesive and inclusive”. The call is addressed to national, regional and local authorities, lay organisations, social and business partners, companies, providers of education and training, universities, culture and sports associations, migrant and private organisations. “The results of the consultation”, the notice says, “will help develop the action plan about social inclusion and integration that has been announced in the European Commission’s work programme”.

According to the Commissioner for Promoting the European Way of Life, Margaritis Schinas, “the social inclusion of migrants is in everybody’s interest, promotes strong and harmonious communities, and protects from the evils of isolation and segregation”. And she adds: “Through this consultation and this expert group, we will ask the people who are most affected by our policies to be involved in the decision-making process. This is the European way of life”.