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Migration and Refugees Integration: a multilevel

governance challenge

New Forms of service delivery for municipalities, the contribution of social dialogue and good practice for

well being at work

Monday November 14th 2016

Ramon Sanahuja

Ajuntament de Barcelona

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Outline of the session:

1. What do we mean when we address the challenges of migration and refugees?

2. Integration a Local natural competence

3. How does Barcelona addresses the challenge of integration. Principles and criteria's

4. SAIER and example of local cooperation with labour unions in service delivery

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Outline of the session:

1. What do we mean when we address the challenges of migration and refugees?

2. Integration a Local natural competence

3. How does Barcelona addresses the challenge of integration. Principles and criteria's

4. SAIER and example of local cooperation with labour unions in service delivery

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What administration is competent in Immigration and refugees?

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Competences / Field (Multilevel governance) UE STATE REGION LOCAL

Border Control, flux control ( Return directive, Frontex...)

Residents permit, regrouping, working permits….

Free movement within EU borders (Schengen, …)

Refuges, Asylum .

Nationality, naturalization (Civil codes...)

Welcoming policies, (information, language…)

Access to services and programmes (health , education, social services, housing…)

Integration, living together with, …(Leisure, participation, visibility…)

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What do we mean when we address the challenges of migration and refugees?

• Migrants vs Refugees.

• North Countries vs. South countries

• East Countries?

• UE legislation clearly priorizes asylum legislation and funding over migration reality

• What about “migrants “ from other UE countries? They need similar strategies than the rest: ex: Language learning.

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Outline of the session:

1. What do we mean when we address the challenges of migration and refugees?

2. Integration a Local natural competence

3. How does Barcelona addresses the challenge of integration. Principles and criteria's

4. SAIER and example of local cooperation with labour unions in service delivery

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Integration a Local natural competence

• Integration of Refugees, asylum seeker, economic migrants, internal mobility of UE is a natural local competence.

• It takes place over the basis of proximity and local sense of belonging.

• It is a social process that it can not be determined by law

• But legal context can influence and make it easier or more difficult (example of family reunification)

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Migration and Integration working group of Eurocities: Global consensus major European cities

• Need of political leadership and

• Address peoples perceptions

• Need to provide access to mainstream services as soon as possible

• Provide access to language learning

• Local staff of LRA should mirror the diversity of population of their cities or regions

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Who finances integration and how is organized?

• AMIF /Regional Funding / ESF

• AMIF it is not arriving to local level in many states in Europe.

• Luck of correct finance of integration, need for more flexibility (refugees / Internal migrants / migrants TCN)

• In Spain all funds are kept by the Ministers and we do not have yet the results of previous evaluation schemes. Luck of transparency. Was the money used? How? Was it effective? In which countries?

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Big failure of the System: Undocumented migrants

• Undocumented exist all over Europe and they are not going to be expelled.

• About 35% asylum seekers will be rejected in Germany Sweden….

• Many Economic migrants working in informal sectors all over Europe, not only in South or East.

• Local governments all over Europe very often deliver services (Barcelona, Utrecht , Gant…): practical realistic approach

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Outline of the session:

1. What do we mean when we address the challenges of migration and refugees?

2. Integration a Local natural competence

3. How does Barcelona addresses the challenge of integration. Principles and criteria's

4. SAIER and example of local cooperation with labour unions in service delivery

Social Context Barcelona(2007-2015)

Unemployment has raised from 7% to up 20%.

Budgets cuts and austerity policy (other administrations) affected basic services like Health, education, etc.

The Banking crisis and real states crisis caused an enormous increase of evictions

Territorial inequality big social stress

Important increase of vulnerable persons

Increase irregular migrants.

But , yet social cohesion and living together it is not broken!

There has been not big social distress

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BARCELONA:

• City Population: 1,65 million. Metropolitan area of 4 million: Historically economic engine in south Europe. High density: 16.000 x Km2

• Foreign population: 280.047 (2014) 17,2% . 23% (with foreign background)

• 22% population 65+

• Official Language: Catalan and Spanish. (Caregiving generational and diversity gap)

• International migration is very recent in the last 15 years. Flow has stopped in the last two years because economic situation

• Economic migrants rather than refugees.

• Ranking of foreign nationalities (2015):

1. Italy 25.797 2. Pakistan 19.414 3. China 17.487 4. France 13.2815. Morocco 12.601 6. Bolivia 9.9467. Ecuador 8.647

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Impact: Great Migration influx 2000 to 2009.

16,4%

22% Foreign Born

53.428

163.046

202.489

260.058

294.918

262.233

0

50.000

100.000

150.000

200.000

250.000

300.000

350.000

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Evolution of the number of foreigners registered 2000-2015

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Context of Economic crisis and big social distress:

• Unemployment has raised from 7% to up 20%(2013) now is15%.

• Youth unemployment 50%.

• Migrant unemployment 36%.

• The Banking crisis and real states crisis caused an enormousincrease of evictions. One of the neighborhoods inBarcelona it is known as “Eviction village”. “CiutatMeridiana.

• Important increase of vulnerable persons and migrantswith irregular status

• Budgets cuts and austerity policy (other administrations)affected basic services like Health, education, socialbenefits, pensions...etc

• New tendency Emigration of well educated youth andvoluntary return to countries of origin.

.

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Impact 2:

51.243

74.364

101.069

100.861

108.624112.192

107.677

99.096

0

20.000

40.000

60.000

80.000

100.000

120.000

Sept 2007 june 2008 june 2009 june 2010 Des 2011 june 2012 des 2013 des 2014

Evolution of Unemployed in Barcelona

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Hypothesis:

+ Massive migration + deep economical crisis in a dense

complex urban area + austerity policies

+ corruption cases and political crisis

=

Riots, ethnic tensions, racism and xenophobia

51.243

74.364

101.069

100.861

108.624

112.192107.677

99.096

90.893

40.000

50.000

60.000

70.000

80.000

90.000

100.000

110.000

120.000

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Evolution of unemployed in Barcelona 2007 2015

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Impact:

9,30%

15,10%

7,90%

6,80%

5,50%

2,30%3,50%

2,30%

0,00%

2,00%

4,00%

6,00%

8,00%

10,00%

12,00%

14,00%

16,00%

Sept 2007 june 2008 june 2009 june 2010 Des 2011 june 2012 des 2013 des 2014

% Of citizens in Barcelona that perceve immigration as the main problem of Barcelona (2007-2014)

Source: Barcelona city Omnibus survey.

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Our framework: Barcelona Interculturality Plan

Main Objective:

Define a strategy for the city of Barcelona in order to tackle the challenge of diversity from an intercultural point of view.

Main goal is to foster interaction between individuals. Pursue “convivencia”.

Barcelona is a city, a setting, where interaction is more likely to happen.

Build a common sense of belonging, civic engagement

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A. Barcelona Interculturality: 3 principles(Theoretical framework of Dr. Carlos Gimenez Romero U.A.M)

Equality

Diversity Interaction

All programmes and policies can be examined how they contribute to the 3 principles.

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Barcelona: Inclusive policies and criteria.

- Avoid segregation from moment 0

- Access to mainstream services to all migrants (health, education) (Not housing)

- Active local registration to all migrants

- Undocumented today is the future documented!

- Strong Welcoming policies

- Participation of NGO and Labor Unions

- Political consensus and leadership

- Free access to language learning for everybody

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Outline of the session:

1. What do we mean when we address the challenges of migration and refugees?

2. Integration a Local natural competence

3. How does Barcelona addresses the challenge of integration. Principles and criteria's

4. SAIER and example of local cooperation with labor unions in service delivery

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SAIER:

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SAIER. (Attentions service to immigrants, emigrants and refugees)

• Social investment package of UE: it is One stop shop for welcoming services to all human mobility.

• Immigration + Emigration + Return to country of origin + Asylum and Refugees.

• Public and Private partnership with NGOs and Labor Unions.

• Open to everybody

• Professionals providing the services.

• All free services for the user.

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SAIER.

• Funded in 1989

• 55 professional workers

• Financed by the municipality with 1,8 million euros (no State or European support not even AMIF)

• 2 major Labor unions embedded (CC.OO –CITE and UGT-AMIC)

• Plus Red Cross, Board of Lawyers of Barcelona (ICAB), ACSAR Foundation (Refugees) and the Catalan Language learning Consortium)

• 13.000 users per year

• 46.000 attentions provided

• 12% asylum seekers

• 50% undocumented migrants

SAIER:

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SAIER -Servei d’atenció a Immigrants, Emigrants i Refugiats-

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SAIER. What do we provide?

• General information of Barcelona: registration 1st step.

• Free access to legal assessment on how to regularize or legalize status

• Renovation of working permits

• Asylum legislation and legal support

• Skill recognition

• Language learning and immediate enrolment to curses

• Social support with the Red Cross in coordination with mainstream social services for recent arrivals and TCN homless

• Return programs funded by the UE (we are the only centralized point where to access to all diferent programs )

• Information on how to emigrate correctly to many countries in Europe and rest of the worlds.

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Thank you!

Ramon Sanahuja:

rsanahuja@bcn.cat

SAIER LINK:

http://www.bcn.cat/novaciutadania/arees/en/saier/saier.html