During the MED migration forum in Rome, experts and mayors from Europe and the South Mediterranean discussed the role of cities and municipalities in human mobility and how to strengthen regular, safe and legal pathways for migration.

The migration forum addressed two focal points:

BEYOND MANAGEMENT: LEGAL PATHWAYS FOR MIGRATION

As migration management has been stuck in “crisis mode” for a long time, it is now urgent to reflect on long-term responses by discussing how to strengthen regular, safe, and legal migration pathways and how to make such pathways sustainable, both for the EU and Southern Mediterranean countries. The key question addressed was: What is the state of play of the current debate, and what is the outlook for feasible mechanisms going forward?

BEYOND PROTECTION: LOCAL PRACTICES AND EXPERIENCES

Given the relevance of local institutions in the implementation of migration and integration policies, the question of legal pathways can only be realistically addressed by involving officials and policymakers working at the local level – from origin countries, as well as from transit and receiving communities – in the discussion. The key issue here was: What challenges and opportunities are local policy makers dealing with migration face, and how can they be supported?

After the MED migration forum, the participants also attended the Rome MED 2019. More information on this can be found here: https://med.ispionline.it/