R
ÉPUBLIQUE
F
RANÇAISE
Paris, April 5
th
2022
Dear Chairs,
Dear colleagues,
We are delighted to host the Interparliamentary Conference on Migration
Challenges as part of the French Presidency of the Council of the European
Union. This Conference will be held on May 15
th
and 16
th
at the Palais du
Luxembourg in Paris, seat of the French Senate.
Migration and asylum are major topics for the European Union. The Union
must find a way to take determined action while respecting the rule of law and
the principle of human dignity as set out in the European treaties, the
constitutional principles of Member States, and the international commitments
by which they are bound. The war in Ukraine highlights just how relevant this
issue is.
In this context, it matters that representatives of the relevant parliamentary
committees of the Member States are able to discuss and take a stance on
stepping up border control and return measures, on the solidarity mechanisms
to be implemented between Member States in order to receive migrants, on
responsibility for taking care of those rescued at sea, on the common visa
issuance policy, on the strengths and weaknesses of Europe’s common asylum
regime, and on the conditions for better immigrant integration.
We would like to invite you to this meeting which will comprise two parts:
-
the first part on the lessons of the 2015 migration crisis in the light of
the war in Ukraine,
-
the second on controlling our external borders.
Representatives from the European Commission, the European Parliament,
the European Border and Coast Guard Agency Frontex, the Organisation for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the French
government will take part.