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The conference was divided into two sessions: The first one was concentrated on the European strategy to meet the challenges of migration and was opened by Frank Engel, Member of the European Parliament from Luxembourg. Mr. Engel analyzed the debate on migration from a European perspective, highlighting the big problems caused by the lack of a common strategy between member states. Monika Ekström, Head of Political Reporting and Policy Analysis Sector in the Representation of the European Commission in Greece, analyzed the initiatives taken by President Juncker aiming to more cooperation. Maria Stavropoulou, Head of the Greek Asylum Service, analyzed the need for a better allocation of responsibilities in the management of migratory flows in the European Union.

The second session concentrated on the different perspectives on migration in frontier countries, in which migrants and refugees often irregularly enter the EU, and destination countries, where they aim to be settled. The Italian case with references to other EU countries was presented by Dr. Ugo Ferruta, Justice of Peace with responsibility in migration issues, from Rome. Katharina Senge, Coordinator for Immigration and Integration at the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, presented the German perspective, including information on the characteristics of the current migratory flows. Dr. Efthimios Papastavridis, Lecturer at the Law School of Democritus University of Thrace, analyzed why revisiting the Dublin Regulation, which has been very often debated in frontier and destination countries with different approaches, cannot be considered as a panacea for the reform of the EU Asylum System.

Prof. Dr. Antonis Bredimas, Emeritus Professor of International Law at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, closed the colloquium with a presentation on the recent developments in the definition of who is s a refugee. The two sessions were moderated by Angelos Athanasopoulos of the newspaper To Vima and Dr. Angelos Syrigos, assistant Professor of International Law & Foreign Policy at Panteion University, who also presented the conclusions of the event, respectively.

More than 150 guests attended the event, among them current and former members of parliament, ministers, high-ranking diplomats from various embassies and the Greek foreign ministry, university professors, representatives of the civil society and governmental agencies.