4.14.3.3. Fostering cooperation among stakeholders
The trend continued in 2022 to involve various stakeholders and improve collaboration on the integration of beneficiaries of international protection. The urgent, large-scale need to provide integration support for persons in need of temporary protection further catalysed this process. Countries had the potential to pilot some new, innovative ways of working together in the integration of persons in need of protection.
The Urban Agenda for the EU Partnership on Inclusion of Migrants and Refugees followed up on its new action plan for 2021-2022 and delivered recommendations for all seven action areas related to access to health care, treatment of mental health concerns, the role of art and culture in integration, specific concerns of LGBTIQ migrants, evidence-based policymaking in cities, financial instruments to be used for integration by cities and children in migration.
A policy brief in the framework of the REGIN project observed that migrant and refugee integration policies at the regional level were the most favourable in the areas of health and education, while the least favourable policies concerned employment, housing and vocational training. The brief also noted gaps in the participation of external stakeholders in regional governance mechanisms for integration. The authors argued that the EU Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion 2021-2027 was a significant opportunity to address policy gaps at the regional level and made recommendations for regions, Member States and the European Commission to use this potential for improvement.
Following the partnership signed by the European Commission and the Committee of the Regions, a declaration was signed on the integration of migrants by the Italian Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, the Conference of Regions and Autonomous Provinces, and the National Association of Italian municipalities. The group pledged to improve coordination, ensure consistent funding and work toward the same objectives. In addition, UNHCR launched a Charter for the Integration of Refugees with six Italian cities.
In 2022, 235 partnerships were concluded between the French Ministry of the Interior and the local authorities, amounting to EUR 10.5 million. Based on these partnerships, the local authorities could develop measures to respond to the needs of the beneficiaries of international protection to facilitate their integration, such as childcare, professional or driving licence training, and cultural and sport activities with local communities.
A knowledge platform was developed in Czechia as part of the “Cities and Inclusive Strategies” project, which is led by civil society organisations. The system stores all integration projects in the country between 2004-2020 that received public or private funding.
The Cypriot Ministry of the Interior launched a call for civil society organisations to participate in the Advisory Committee for the Integration of Migrants. The committee is foreseen to include a maximum of three NGO members for a 2-year term.
The Cities Network for Integration continued its activities in Greece and launched a new website,
The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labour in Iceland allocated funds to several municipalities for the harmonised integration of beneficiaries of international protection. The projects covered diverse areas depending on the priorities of the municipality and included, for example, a course in parentings skills to help beneficiaries to support their children with trauma, training in online banking and training for primary school staff to strengthen their skills in supporting beneficiary children.
The Communities Integration Fund has been in place in Ireland since 2017, and in 2022, 124 community projects were chosen to receive EUR 566,500 to support the locant integration of beneficiaries of international protection and migrants in general. Projects received priority when involving women, children and youth, labour market integration and community volunteering.
While the number of applicants for international protection was very low in Denmark (see Section 4.1.3) and hundreds of municipal staff working on integration were made redundant in recent years, municipalities signalled that it became challenging to ensure integration support for Ukrainians in need of protection.
Coordinated by one of the Finnish Centres for Economic Development, Transport and Environment (ELY Centres), a new AMIF-funded campaign was launched to promote the participation of beneficiaries of international protection in the development of integration services and improve the knowledge of municipality and employment services staff about integration issues.
Civil society organisations from Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands and ECRE drafted a training kit – with the involvement of several other stakeholders, including representatives from national administrations – to empower refugee-led community organisations to become active advocacy partners at the national and European levels.
A report from the Migration Institute of Finland and the Innonlink Group found that municipal integration programmes increased cooperation between municipalities, different sectors and different authorities. However, programmes should be more target-oriented, instead of simply promoting integration, and municipalities do not always have the competence or resources to implement such demanding programmes. More support and more detailed instructions were needed. The results of the report fed into the integration reform process that was launched in 2022 (see Section 4.14.3.2). The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment already granted EUR 3 million to municipalities for projects to develop guidance and counselling services for migrants regionally or in cooperation with several municipalities.