The first European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) to empower a welcoming Europe was launched in Italy on 19 April 2018. Under the name "We are a welcoming Europe, let us help!", it aims to collect the signatures of one million people who support the initiative. Here is the link to sign the petition.
The ECI is a participatory democracy instrument that allows citizens to suggest concrete legal changes in any field where the European Commission has the power to propose legislation. For this purpose, it is necessary for the Initiative to collect one million signatures within 12 months in at least seven EU member states. “Welcoming Europe”, which was approved by the European Commission on 14 February 2018, needs to collect the requested number of signatures by February 2019.
In addition to Italy, promotion committees have been set up in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Hungary. The ECI has three objectives: stopping the criminalisation of humanitarian aid; extending the sponsorship programmes for refugees; and strengthening the mechanisms for the protection of civil rights for refugees and migrants.
Decriminalisation of solidarity
In at least 12 countries of the European Union, behaviours such as distributing food and drink, giving a lift, buying a ticket or hosting a migrant are often considered as "facilitating illegal immigration" and can lead to a fine or arrest. In March 2018, for example, a French mountain guide was accused of "trafficking in human beings" for helping an eight months' pregnant woman who was crossing the French-Italian border with her family.
This is allowed because EU law does not clarify the difference between trafficking, smuggling and humanitarian assistance. Within this framework, governments are trying to discourage volunteers from providing humanitarian aid to migrants in need, since they believe that this sort of aid can represent a pull factor for migration flows.
In order to tackle the criminalisation of humanitarian aid, the ECI calls on the European Commission to amend the EU Directive on the facilitation of unauthorised entry, transit and residence (2002/90/EC). This will possibly prevent member states from imposing sanctions on citizens or NGOs that provide non-profit humanitarian assistance to those who need it.
Expanding sponsorship programmes for refugees
Another objective of the ECI is to create safe entry routes that are complementary to national resettlement programmes. In this context, civil society could also make a significant contribution through private sponsorships. The latter play an important role in other countries in facilitating the local integration of newly arrived refugees, thanks to the support and mobilisation of the community, religious groups, NGOs, private companies and families of resettled refugees.
In this sense, the Initiative asks the European Commission to modify EU Regulation 516/2014 of the European Parliament and Council and to activate a new funding programme within the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF), to support community private sponsorship programmes.
Strengthening civil rights protection mechanisms
Many migrants are victims of labour exploitation and human rights violations, particularly in border areas. However, they struggle to access justice. Therefore, the ECI proposes strengthening the mechanisms of protection and appeal in the case of human rights violations or abuses perpetrated by national and third-country police forces.
The ICE calls in particular for the protection of all individuals, regardless of their status, and the guarantee of access to justice. It asks for the introduction of mechanisms that allow the victims to securely file complaints and protect migrants from violations of fundamental rights at borders.
The initiative is supported by a broad coalition of civil society organizations, including Liberties member the Italian Coalition for Civil Rights and Liberties (CILD) and A Buon Diritto.
