Solidarity Cities Initiative Launched By The City Of Athens

The Solidarity Cities initiative was recently announced at a press conference in Athens in October 2016, following a closed political session gathering 23 mayors and vice-mayors of the EUROCITIES network. The Mayor of Athens, Georgios Kaminis, and Vice-Mayor of Barcelona, Laïa Ortiz, presented to journalists the concept of the initiative and the main demands of European cities in terms of direct funding for refugee reception and integration, as well as better involvement from cities in the shaping of migration policy at the European and national level.

Solidarity Cities embodies a humanitarian response to the refugee situation, advocating a fairer sharing of responsibilities among EU member states. EUROCITIES published an open letter on World Refugee Day 2016, calling to refocus the debate on the refugee situation in Europe so as to reflect common European values of solidarity, humanity and dignity. Many cities are already taking steps to ensure the safe reception and passage of refugees through their territories, as described in the April 2016 report, ‘Refugee reception and integration in cities.'

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