wfn.org | Working towards a comprehensive EU asylum and migration policy

["Ruth Gill" <rag@cec-kek.org>]

Conference of European Churches - Office of Communications

The following Press Release is jointly issued by the Conference
of European Churches (CEC) and the Commission of the Bishops'
Conferences of the European Community (COMECE)

Press Release No. 04-31/e		2 June 2004

WORKING TOWARDS A COMPREHENSIVE EU ASYLUM AND MIGRATION POLICY

Dialogue Seminar between Churches and European Institutions

'The EU must not consider migration as a problem but as a
phenomenon.' This was the main message echoed in the Dialogue
Seminar between representatives of Churches and European
Institutions, which took place in Brussels on 21 June 2004.
Migration is a phenomenon which is linked to the human nature and
present in the world throughout history. To address this
phenomenon successfully a right balance is required between the
emphasis given to security aspects and an increased attention to
adequate integration policies and possibilities to open channels
for legal immigration.

Church experts and EU officials discussed the efforts taken by
the Institutions to establish a comprehensive EU asylum and
migration system (Tampere process). They agreed that further
efforts will have to be made and that the EU Constitution offers
new effective instruments to develop a common approach on EU
migration and asylum policy. The EU officials recognised that
churches and church organisations should play an essential role
in this process. The Churches underlined that the human dignity
and the respect of the human rights of migrants and asylum
seekers must be essential for all EU policies on asylum and
migration. There stressed the importance of a good coherence of
the different EU policies involved, e.g. justice and home
affairs, development and labour policies. The Churches called for
a sharing of responsibilities between all actors working on
asylum and migration and promoted to take family values into
account. EU Commissioner Jan Figel highlighted the positive
economic dynamic related to migration. With regard to enlargement
he expressed the expectation that current restrictions on free
movement for eight of the new EU Member States would be lifted
earlier than foreseen in the accession treaties.

The Dialogue Meeting was organised by the Group of Policy
Advisors to the President of the European Commission, the Church
and Society Commission of the Conference of European Churches
(CEC), the Churches' Commission for Migrants in Europe (CCME) and
the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European
Community (COMECE). Church experts from 12 countries, as well as
a number of invited guests from NGOs working on asylum and
migration, had an opportunity to discuss the issues in an open
debate with Commissioner Jan Figel and other officials of the
European Commission, policy advisors of the political groups from
the European Parliament and a representative of the forthcoming
Dutch Presidency of the EU. 

The Dialogue Seminars have been an instrument of regular
exchange between representatives of the Churches and the European
Commission. They addressed immediate challenges for European
Integration such as the development of a common asylum and
migration policy. Article I-51 of the EU Constitutional Treaty
which has been adopted on 18 June 2004 provides for an open,
transparent and regular dialogue between the EU and the churches
recognising their identity and their specific contribution.

* * * *

The Conference of European Churches (CEC) is a fellowship of
some 125 Orthodox, Protestant, Anglican and Old Catholic Churches
from all countries of Europe, plus 40 associated organisations.
CEC was founded in 1959. It has offices in Geneva, Brussels and
Strasbourg.

For information:
Office of Communications
Conference of European Churches
Phone +41 22 791 64 85 or 791 63 25
Fax +41 22 791 62 27
e-mail Luca.Negro@cec-kek.org