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Asylum

System of (im)mobility – Movement of Asylum Seekers and Refugees within the Schengen Area (Milan)

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About the Event

The conference focuses on the mobility of asylum seekers and refugees within European borders, and aims to explore issues such as drivers leading asylum seekers and refugees to move to other European countries, available legal channels for movement, and obstacles posed by the “system of (im)mobility” created by the current legal framework.

Why do asylum seekers and refugees need mobility in Europe? What legal issues do they face when they want to move to other EU countries? What is the existing jurisprudence at European level and what is its impact on the current system? What needs to be changed at European, national and local level and how can reform be realistically achieved?

The aim of the conference is to deepen participants’ understanding of the current European legislation’s adverse impact on the mobility of asylum seekers and refugees, its interplay with local policies, and identify proposals for sustainable reform.

The programme will feature presentations by legal and academic experts, as well as NGO and political representatives. There will also be interactive workshops.

Programme

09.00 – 09.30 Registration

09.30 Welcome

  • Vincenzo Greco, Member of Confederal Secretariat Cgil Milano
  • Susanne Rieger, Co-President and Member of Board of Directors Green European Foundation
  • Federico Faloppa, Fondazione Alexander Langer, board director member 

10.00 – 11.30

Panel: The state of play of the negotiations on the reform of the Common European Asylum System

  • Chairman: Gianfranco Schiavone (Chairman of ICS – Consorzio Italiano di Solidarietà/Vice Chair ASGI)

10.00

The state of play of the negotiations on the reform of the Common European Asylum System

  • Alessia Di Pascale, Associate Professor of EU Law and Professor of Foreign Law at the University of Milan

10.30

The state of play of the negotiations on the reform of the Common European Asylum System with particular regard to the Dublin Regulation.

  •  Giovanna Manieri, Advisor on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs for the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament

11.00 Q & A

11.30 Coffee Break

12.00 – 13.00

Roundtable discussion (20 minutes per input)

  • Chairman: Gianfranco Schiavone (Chairman of ICS – Consorzio Italiano di Solidarietà/Vice Chair ASGI)

Implementing or bypassing the Dublin Regulation? Relocation and bilateral agreements

  • Minos Mouzourakis, Head of Legal and Policy Research a.i. ECRE (European Council on Refugees and Exiles)

Separated families in the Dublin system

  • Mads Melin, Legal Advisor, Asylum Department, Danish Refugee Council

Migration Miteinander: moveurope! – a pilot project to promote legal migration channels in the EU for holders of a humanitarian residence permit & refugees

  • Golde Ebding, Universo Interculturale, and Karla Kästner

13.00 Q & A

13.30 BUFFET – Lunch

14.30 – 16.00 Workshops

Workshop I

Mobility of refugees, mutual recognition of qualifications and family reunification of beneficiaries of international protection (in English)

  • Chairpersons: Caterina Bove (ASGI, Aida rapporteur for Italy for ASGI and Ecre) and Gianfranco Schiavone (Chairman of ICS – Consorzio Italiano di Solidarietà/Vice Chair ASGI)

Workshop II

Secondary movements of applicants for international protection. In particular:

  • Comparison between jurisprudential orientations
  • the role of the legal advisor in providing legal assistance to asylum seekers affected by a Dublin measure (understood as the development of actions and appeals)
  • Chairpersons: Anna Brambilla (ASGI) and Ilaria Sommaruga (Legal Advisor at Community Center Milano)

16.00 – 17.00 Synthesis of workshops and conclusion of the event

  • Gianfranco Schiavone, Chairman of ICS – Consorzio Italiano di Solidarietà/Vice Chair ASGI
  • Anna Brambilla, Lawyer/ASGI

Registration

Due to high demand, registrations can unfortunately no longer be accepted. Stay tuned for outcomes of the conference.


This conference is organised with the support of GEF partner Fondazione Alexander Langer and with the support of ASGI. With the support provided by Open Society Foundations.

Climate Refugees and Climate Migration

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The effects of climate change and consequential natural disasters is causing the mass displacement of peoples across the world, a phenomenon that will only be exacerbated as the climate crisis continues.

A response to this global challenge and a clear legal framework to recognise and protect climate refugees on an international, regional and national level are urgently required.

This working paper aims to serve as a basis for debate and exchange on the matter, exploring controversies around and difficulties in pinpointing this phenomenon to better understand how to respond it.

Mapping the state of discourse on climate migration on the international and European levels, the Green European Foundation hopes to foster a more constructive debate and increase awareness.

This paper has been published as part of the GEF project Environmental Migration and Climate Refugees.

Environmental Migration and Climate Refugees

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Project Background

Increasing awareness for climate change in our societies also brings to the forefront the very real effects it already has today. Around the world, millions of people are being displaced and deprived of their livelihoods due to sudden or slow-onset consequences of global warming.

The last  few years have seen an unprecedented number of displaced persons and refugees around the world following armed conflicts, but the increased number of people seeking asylum in EU member states has revealed the flaws of the EU’s asylum and migration policies and the rise of anti-migration rhetoric is threatening European values.

At the same time, even bigger challenges lie ahead as the UNHCR estimates that one person every second has been displaced by a disaster, with an average of 22.5 million people displaced by climate- or weather-related events since 2008. And although leading NGOs have warned that natural disasters are already the main cause for internal or international displacement, the international community has yet to formulate a clear response to the challenge and guarantee the protection of those affected.

Project Objectives and Activities

The GEF project on environmental migration and climate refugees aims to open up the space for debate on how we can ensure that those  affected by environmental migration and climate displacement receive legal recognition and have their dignity protected whether they remain within their home countries or cross international borders.

Together with experts from NGOs, the policy level and academia, GEF will explore the implications of this phenomenon on the European Union and bring new ideas and perspectives to the debate. In January 2020, the foundation will organise a Green Salon, as a forum for debate within the Green movement. To stimulate the broader debate, GEF has published a working paper on the topic, which can be read here.