The political declaration that leaders from Europe and Africa adopted at yesterday’s Valletta summit on migration in the Maltesian island in the Mediterranean states “we agree to respond decisively and together manage migration flows in all their aspects, guided by the principles of solidarity, partnership and shared responsibility”.

“Working together on the current migration and refugee challenge means first and foremost to broaden our view of the situation, to be open to different perspectives and to take into account the complexity of the situation. And, it is much more than just providing money”, says the president of the Assembly of European Regions, Hande Özsan Bozatli. “We at AER know what it means to bring a diversity of cultures, political traditions and thinking together. It is not always easy. Yet, I am more than ever convinced that working together can also mean making use of the power of sub-national diplomacy. AER’s Bureau meeting taking place next month in Brussels, will be a unique possibility to show how this works in practice. Bringing key partners into one room and thus making use of AER’s strength that is its diversity, contributor’s to the Bureau discussion will come from Scandinavia, Central and South-East Europe as well as Turkey. One of the key issues for our regions will be the integrating of migrants into host societies and to counter-act xenophobia and discrimination. Showing that we as regional leaders can come together despite our different geographic and socio-political context in order to discuss the common problem, is one important step to come closer to a solution. We look forward to meeting you for this debate.”

Join the AER Bureau meeting on 2 December in Brussels. All relevant information available here.