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Working together to deal with the refugee and migration crisis
The EESC visit to Austria - 15–16 December
A delegation from the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) was in Austria from 15 to 16 December to learn about the work of various civil society organisations helping to deal with the influx of refugees.
The EESC delegation, which included the Austrian members Christa Schweng and Alfred Gajdosik and the German Member Hajo Wilms, met with representatives of government bodies, NGOs and social partners in Vienna and Traiskirchen, in order to discuss the challenges facing the various bodies on a general, day-to-day basis.
The mission formed part of a series of activities organised by the EESC under the title “Going local”, with a view to gaining an insight into the work that civil society organisations do for migrants, asylum seekers and refugees. The aim of these visits was to find out where the specific problems and needs of these organisations lie and to identify best practices. A thorough and well-documented report on this mission will be drawn up in due course.
At the end of the mission, Ms Schweng, Mr Gajdosik and Mr Wilms together stressed that the “causes of the refugee flows must be tackled consistently on the ground. The current situation requires a fair distribution of refugees in Europe. Individual countries must not make excuses. Without the help of civil society, the situation of many refugees would be much worse. Asylum seekers with the prospect of making a successful application must be integrated quickly. The aim of civil society in Austria is to deal with refugees in a humane way.
The organisations visited expressed a common wish for a unified European asylum procedure as well as for the fair distribution of asylum seekers across the EU Member States. In their view, the large number of refugees currently arriving in Europe is partly a consequence of a failure to invest in development aid.
In late 2015/early 2016 EESC delegations will be visiting a further 10 Member States (Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Sweden) as well as Turkey.
For further information, please contact:
Silvia Aumair
E-Mail:
Tel: +32 2 546 8141
@EESC_PRESS
The European Economic and Social Committee represents the various economic and social components of organised civil society. It is an institutional consultative body established by the 1957 Treaty of Rome. Its consultative role enables its members, and hence the organisations they represent, to participate in the EU decision-making process. The Committee has 350 members from across Europe, who are appointed by the Council of the European Union.
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Tel. +32 2 546 8893 – Fax +32 25469764
E-mail: – Internet:
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