A short Discussion Note on Reception Services

 

The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) has made the EU competent to create a common asylum policy. According to article 78 TFEU, the EU shall develop a common policy on asylum, subsidiary and temporary protection for those in need of international protection. It is set out in paragraph two of this article, that the EU can create common standards concerning the conditions for reception for asylum seekers. Article 78 TFEU has served as the legal basis for many EU asylum policy directives.

In EU law, it is the Recast Reception Conditions Directive (2013/33/EU) which laying down standards for the reception of applicants for international protection. The Reception Conditions Directive aims at ensuring better as well as more harmonized standards of reception conditions throughout the Union. It ensures that applicants have access to housing, food, clothing, health care, education for minors and access to employment under certain conditions.

The current Reception Conditions Directive was adopted in 2013. It replaced Council Directive 2003/9/CE on minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers. The deadline for Member States to transpose the Directive into national law was 20 July 2015.

In addition to the above mentioned provisions, the Directive also provides particular attention to vulnerable persons, especially unaccompanied minors and victims of torture. Member States must, inter alia, conduct an individual assessment in order to identify the special reception needs of vulnerable persons and to ensure that vulnerable asylum seekers can access medical and psychological support.

 

Alongside this specific directive there are the EU Common Basic Principles for Immigrant Integration Policy and the vehicle for its implementation, the Common Agenda for Integration form the basis upon which migrant integration in the EU is formulated, and view integration as comprising the following:

A) General

In recent years, there has been a substantial increase in the number of migrants coming to Europe seeking protection, safer environments or just new opportunities for themselves and their families. Social service providers have been significantly impacted by this trend, as they are often at the forefront of co-ordinating support. Depending on the legal status and needs of different migrant groups, such support can range from short-term actions such as emergency accommodation, social and healthcare assistance and support with administrative needs to longer term services that include language learning, cultural integration, counselling and labour market integration.

In a context of fiscal consolidation which poses challenges for sustainable service provision and against a backdrop of rising xenophobia, often fuelled by political rhetoric, social service providers must find the best ways to deliver services to a diverse group of users – a group which continues to grow in size, experiences stigmatisation and trauma, and may often be highly skilled yet have a wide spectrum of needs.

Ensuring and safeguarding migrant’s access to social services is important for a number of reasons. First and foremost, it is integral to protecting the human rights of migrants and to enable them to lead their lives in dignity by providing pathways towards meaningful societal participation. Secondly, providing social services for the integration of migrants is an investment which pays off economically, contributing to economic growth and a wider tax base in receiving countries through a strengthening of Europe’s workforce. It also constitutes the most effective way to prevent future costs tied to inadequate integration in society. Service quality and accessibility are key to translating this logic into practice.

However, it needs to be recognised at the outset that the settlement and reception needs for refugees and asylum seekers are significant and complex. For example, prior to their arrival, refugees and asylum seekers may have experienced forced displacement, prolonged periods in refugee camps or marginalisation in urban settings, exposure to violence and abuse of human rights,loss and separation from family members, deprivation of cultural and religious institutions and practices, periods of extreme poverty, severe constraints on access to health, education, employment and income support, prolonged uncertainty about the future.

It is cities that are faced with the challenge of meeting this complex needs. Cities located in arrival, transit and destination countries in Europe are finding themselves in an especially critical position with regards to the social, humanitarian and financial consequences of the refugee flow. Regardless of specific competences at different governance levels, it is typically up to municipalities to ensure that asylum seekers settle in well for the duration of their stay, however short or long it may be. This situation requires systematic and coordinated efforts at local level involving a range of stakeholders.

Local authorities are supposed to manage this temporary reception of asylum seekers in front-line and transit cities. They need to offer asylum seekers temporary accommodation until a decision has been taken about their status. Once the asylum seeker has received a status, either as a refugee or as a person receiving humanitarian protection, local authorities play a role in ensuring housing and starting with the integration processes of the beneficiary into the host society. In general, regional and local authorities do not only have to implement national policies, but often have to develop ad hoc measures. Achieving an inclusive and integrated approach tackling both the urgent and the medium-long term asylum seekers challenge requires governance in partnership. All levels of governments need to complement their respective strategy and action. This crisis, along with the current international instability calls for a change in addressing the way governments plan and implement actions and public services.

 

B) Specific

Health services: A number of research and studies have highlighted a number of barriers that migrants face in accessing health services:

Housing Services: Despite the differences in the housing stock across Europe, migrants often find themselves in a disadvantaged situation compared to the native-born population. As is evident from data collected by EWSI national experts in the 28 EU countries, migrants are generally vulnerable on the housing market, disproportionately dependent on private rentals, more likely to be uninformed of their rights and discriminated against. They also face greater obstacles to access public housing or housing benefits and are more likely to live in substandard and poorly connected accommodations, with less space available and at a higher rental cost burden than the national average.

 

Reception Centers: The large numbers of asylum seekers have created problems in the reception centres . Overcrowding is a major problem which also leads to violence in reception centres. There is not sufficient access to health care because the demand is too high. Overcrowding leads to a lack of privacy, lack of living space and a lack of sanitary facilities. This can create a dangerous situation for women and children. In addition, there is a lack of interpreters available, information is insufficiently provided and the asylum procedure is very lengthy. Another problem is that children cannot always go to school. Furthermore, cases of sexual violence against women and children have been reported. Civic engagement services

Civil society organizations and the support of local communities and non-governmental organizations, are important for an effective integration. Frequent interaction between immigrants and host country citizens is seen as a fundamental mechanism for opening societies for all immigrants but especially for refugees. By offering possibilities for participation in community activities like sports clubs or other recreational activities, host countries can convey its values. This is particularly important as public opinion towards refugees in many Member States is now more reluctant.

 

Conclusion and questions to consider

The service needs of migrants are diverse and often complex. An integrated approach to social services, coordinated around each user on a personal basis, is necessary to ensure the effectiveness of interventions. At the same time, an integrated approach can optimise service accessibility throughout the integration process, as changes in a person’s legal status might affect their eligibility for specific services. Finally, integration between service providers and other stakeholders like local authorities, employment services or local communities is key to strengthening cooperation between different actors pursuing a common goal. Ensuring coherence in service provision is integral to promoting a fast and sustainable integration process for migrants.

 

Considering partners local situation and in view of the next Transnational Workshop the following challenges will be addressed:

Some resources

A European Agenda on Migration (2015)

EC Communication Action Plan on the integration of third country nationals (2016)

Housing and Integration of Migrants in Europe.( Cities for Local Integration Policies report)

Social Affairs, Refugee reception and Integration in Cities (Eurocities report 2016)

Access to social and health services for migrants in Europe (Eurodiaconia 2014)

 

Haroon Saad

Lead Expert