Dublin joins EU network to help immigrants

Dublin today joined 24 other European cities as part of moves to help immigrants integrate into communities.

With ever-increasing numbers of workers moving around the European Union, a special network has been set up to develop innovative policies on housing, education and cultural diversity.

The Cities for Local Integration Policy will allow local authorities and councils to work together and swap information over the coming years on ways to improve life for immigrants.

Set up by the European Foundation, the Council of Europe and the City of Stuttgart, it was launched by Minister for the Environment Dick Roche, Lord Mayor of Dublin Vincent Jackson and Dr Wolfgang Schuster, Mayor of Stuttgart.

“Past experiences have taught us that any immigration policy has to be accompanied by a coherent and well-resourced integration policy, including proper placement, adequate acquisition of knowledge and cultural standards, and close interaction with the receiving society,” said Willy Buschak, the foundation’s deputy director.

“The CLIP network seeks to fill a gap in the analysis and evaluation of recent efforts by local authorities to co-ordinate their activities and learn from each other, and contributes to the European Commission’s efforts to co-ordinate European integration policy between the member states.”

The aim of the network is to support social and economic integration and full participation of migrants, to combat social inequalities and discrimination, to create conditions leading to peaceful co-existence between migrants and the native population and to help migrants to preserve their own cultural identity.