European Economic and Social Committee

Thursday 31 May, room JDE 621

Interpretation available from EN, FR, DE, ES, IT, NL into EN, FR, DE, ES, IT

8:30-9:15 | Registration of participants

9:30-11:10 | Opening session

• Cecilia Malmström, European Commissioner for Home Affairs
• Henrik Ankerstjerne, Deputy Permanent State Secretary, Ministry of Justice, Denmark
• Salvatore Iacolino (IT/EPP), Member of the European Parliament, Vice-Chair of the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE)
• Staffan Nilsson, President the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)

10 minutes intervention of each speaker followed questions from the floor

11:10-13:30 | Panel 1: Integration measures

The discussion in this panel is to be based on Q5 of the Green Paper.

Chair: Tineke Strik (Council of Europe)

• MSs:  PT (Bernardo Sousa, High Commission for Immigration and Intercultural Dialogue (ACIDI)),  DE (Christian Klos, Federal Ministry of Interior)
• MEP: Sylvie Guillaume (FR/S&D)
• NGOs:
  • Doris Peschke, Churches' Commission for Migrants in Europe (CCME);
  • Hiltrud Stöcker-Zafari, Verband binationaler Familien (DE)
• Expert: Ricky van Oers, Center for Migration Law, Radboud University (NL)

10 minutes max intervention of each speaker followed by questions from the floor/debate

13:30-15:00 | Lunch

15:00-16:30 | Panel 2: The Right to family reunification in the application process

(need for individual assessment/best interest of the child, length of the procedure, fees)

The discussion in this panel is to be based on Q12,13,14 of the Green Paper.

Chair: Yves Pascouau (Senior researcher European Policy Center)

• MEP: Judith Sargentini (NL/Greens)
• NGOs:
  • Massimo Frigo, Legal Advisor, International Commission of Jurists
  • Jorg Werner, Defence for Children (NL)
• Expert: Prof. Kees Groenendijk (Meijers Committee) (NL)

10 minutes max intervention of each speaker followed by questions from the floor/debate

16:30-18:00 | Panel 3: Asylum related issues

The discussion in this panel is to be based on Q8, Q9 and Q10 (DNA part) of the Green paper.

Chair: Anne Bathily (European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE))

• MEP: Jean Lambert (UK/Greens)
• Laure Batut, Member of the European Economic and Social Committee
• Pauline Chaigne, UNHCR
• Anki Carlsson, Legal Advisor, Swedish Red Cross

10 minutes max intervention of each speaker followed by questions from the floor/debate

18:00-18:30 | Projection of a video

18:30 | Reception hosted by the European Economic and Social Committee

Friday 1 June, JDE 62

Interpretation available from EN, FR, DE, ES, IT, NL, SV into EN, FR, DE, ES, IT

9:15-11:15 | Panel 4: Misuse of the right? Forms and scale of frauds (Q10, Q11)

Chair: Katerina Kratzmann (IOM Vienna)

Presentation of the European Migration Network Study on Misuse of the Right to Family reunification by Stephen Davies, DG Home Affairs, European Commission

• MSs: UK (Richard Bradley, Home Office), NL (Peter Diez, Ministry of Interior and Kingdom Relations)
• MEP: Kyriacos Triantaphyllides (CY/GUE), (tbc)
• Sergio Soave (IT/PES), Committee of the Regions, Rapporteur of the opinion on family reunification
• NGOs: Amandine Bach, European Women's Lobby; Antonio Garatto, CoordEurop (European Coordination for Foreigners' Right to Family Life)

10 minutes max intervention of each speaker followed by questions from the floor/debate

11:15-11:30 | Coffee break

11:30-13:00 | Concluding remarks

• Luis Miguel Pariza Castaños, Member of the EESC and of the Bureau of the Forum
• Peter Verhaeghe (Caritas Europe) and Ayse Kosar (Danish Council for Ethnic Minorities) - elected members of the Bureau of the Forum
• Andreas Ashiotis, Cypriot Presidency, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior
• Stefano Manservisi, Director General of DG Home Affairs, European Commission

13:00 | Snack lunch