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News
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Migration, social justice and cohabitation
04.08.2010
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On the 13th of July 2010, in the Conventus room within the Patriarchate Palace, the Ecumenical Association of the Churches of Romania - AIDRom organized the national seminar "The phenomenon of migration, social justice and cohabitation", with the support of the World Council of Churches (WCC) and of the Churches Commission for Migrants in Europe (CCME). The seminar was held in the framework of the national project "The Christian Churches of Romania Responding to the Migration Phenomenon".
The majority of European churches is involved in giving confessional support and direct assistance (medical, psychological assistance, counseling, etc.) to migrants. At present, Romania is both an origin country, as an important number of Romanian citizens emigrate abroad, and a destination country for an increasing number of immigrants. According to the statistics of the last two years, the migration in Romania is increasing and this phenomenon represents a challenge for the Romanian society, including the Churches. The Romanian Orthodox Church pays special attention to the problems of migrants through its social assistance programs and collaborates with other Christian cults in Romania in order to support them (Bucharest, Arad, Timisoara).
The seminar brought together 25 Romanian participants, representatives of the Romanian Orthodox Church, of the Romano-Catholic Church, Protestant Churches, as well as other experts in the migration phenomenon from different NGOs.
The aim of the seminar was to evaluate the activity developed so far by the Churches of Romania, emphasizing the importance of the common religious values and the maintenance of the specific traditions in the integration process of the immigrants in society. On this occasion, the national campaign "Welcome stranger!" was launched, marking the end of the year "the Churches in Europe responding to the migration phenomenon", launched by the Churches Commission for Migrants in Europe (CCME) during the 13th General Assembly (Lyon, July 2009).
Source Basilica.ro
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The City of Lublin in Poland seeks partners
28.07.2010
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The City of Lublin (the Culture Department) seeks partners for a project in the field of school integration of refugee children in order to apply for a grant in the framework of the PROGRESS Program (deadline 31st of August 2010).
The aim of this project is to support the integration of the refugee children living in the Centers for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in the Lublin Region. There will be workshops in the schools attended by the refugees in order to combat stereotypes, prejudices and discrimination and to promote cultural diversity. The project also aims at training the refugee adults to become intercultural assistants.
For more details contact Magdalena Kawa, magdalena.kawa@gmail.com until August 10th 2010
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EU population exceeds the threshold of 500 million people due to migration
28.07.2010
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According to a EUROSTAT release on 27th of July 2010, the total population of the 27 EU member states exceeded half billion people at the beginning of the year 2010. The increase of 1.4 million people in comparison with the previous year was due mainly to immigration (0.9 million net migration).
Details at http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_PUBLIC/3-27072010-AP/EN/3-27072010-AP-EN.PDF
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The “Muslim woman” Conference
26.07.2010
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The Muslim Sisters Association organized the Muslim Woman Conference in Bucharest on July 24; approximately 160 people took part in this event - members of the Muslim community of Romania, representatives of Islamic NGOs and of NGOs activating in the field of women rights promotion.
The special guests were Famile Fatma Arslan (the first veiled woman lawyer in Holand), who spoke about the Muslim Woman in Europe, George Grigore, who spoke about the dialogue between Islam and Christianity, Anton Caragea, who focused on the topic of the Role of the Muslim Woman in International Relations, Alina Isac Alak, who made a presentation regarding Methodological Problems in Approaching Islamic Studies and Abu Al-Ola, with an intervention on Aspects of Woman Conversion to Islam. The presentations were followed by questions and by an open dialogue between participants. The association promises to organize similar actions in the future. The "Muslim Sisters" Association, created in 2006, is an independent association fighting for the rights of Muslim women in the Romanian and global society. Thus, the activities of the association focus on the Muslim woman, her daily life, culture, tradition, religion, militating for the rights of women in the world, trying to initiate a permanent intercultural and inter-religious dialogue in the Romanian society, fighting against any kind of discrimination, against Islamophobia, anti-Semitism and fostering a model coexistence of the Muslim community of Romania in the society where it lives.
Details at http://femeiamusulmana.blogspot.com/
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An important step towards Schengen Space
23.07.2010
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By adopting on July 15 the evaluation report regarding the implementation by Romania of the requirements provisioned in order to accede to the Schengen Space, the institutions in the field made one more step towards eliminating the frontiers with the Shengen countries. A pre-evaluation mission carried out by two European experts in Bucharest between July 20 and 24 will enable the preparation of the next stages of this process. The report adopted on July 15 presents the conclusions of the evaluation visit which took place in the period March 27 - April 1 2010. This visit was focused on the terrestrial borders and was the sixth evaluation visit, after those focused on police cooperation, personal data protection, visas, maritime and aerial borders, which took place in March, April, June, September and November 2009.
The Ministry of Administration and Internal Affairs, through its Schengen Department, coordinated the organization of this visit. The aim of the Schengen evaluation visits is to verify in the field the fulfillment of all the conditions necessary to the implementation of the Schengen acquis in this domain, so that Romania can acquire the status of Schengen state with full rights.
The institutions evaluated during the visit were: The Ministry of Administration and Internal Affairs (the Border Police and the Romanian Immigration Office), the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and the National Customs Authority.
Details at http://www.schengen.mira.gov.ro/index09.htm
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Increased taxes for residency papers in Romania starting with July
20.07.2010
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The Romanian Immigration Office announces increased taxed for issuing certain papers, among which they mention the papers for residency in Romania. Details at http://ori.mai.gov.ro/stiri/citeste/ro/13/Modificri-de-taxe-pentru-documente
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The Belgian presidency of the EU Council reaffirms its support for a common European policy for asylum
16.07.2010
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On June 15th 2010, in the framework of an informal meeting of the EU member states representatives responsible for asylum management and in the presence of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the analysis of the current documents regulating the cooperation in the field of asylum was resumed, so that the principles of solidarity and shared responsibility taken on in 2009 within the Stockholm Program could be put into practice. According to this program, by 2012 the EU should have a common policy regarding asylum procedures.
The meeting follows several consultations on this topic between the representatives of the Belgian government and the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs within the European Parliament. The Belgian presidency expressed its commitment to facilitate, by the end of the year, the development of a concrete plan enabling the achievement of the objectives set in the Stockholm Program in this field.
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"We need immigrant workers in order to secure our economic survival", stated EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström
13.07.2010
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The statement was made as the Commission adopted proposals for two directives on labour migration to the EU.The proposals seek to establish a common framework for conditions of entry and stay for two types of workers: seasonal workers and so called intra-corporate transferees.Seasonal workers are workers from non-EU countries coming to EU Member States to work for a shorter period of time in season-driven sectors such as agriculture, horticulture and tourism. This type of temporary workforce is often subject to exploitation and to conditions that put their health and safety in danger.
A quite different type of non-EU workers is called intra-corporate transferees. They are key personnel in multinational companies who get transferred on a temporary basis to a branch or subsidiary of their own company in an EU Member State. Up until now, businesses have been facing an array of 27 sets of rules and regulations and often lengthy procedures to manage this type of transfers. With today proposal, companies would get access to the right people with the right skills at the right time, while the intra-corporate transferees themselves would get more attractive residence conditions, more flexible rules for bringing their families to Europe, a clear legal status and they would more easily be able to move in between Member States if that is required for carrying out their work
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Immigrants and the success of Germany at World Cup
05.07.2010
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11 of the 23 players of the German national team come from immigrant families. Thomas de Maiziere, the Minister of Domestic Affairs and Sports in Germany declares: "They worked hard and had excellent results. They wanted to become German citizens and did it without turning their back on their origin country. I have accepted it and they are as loved as the others. They are an example of successful integration".
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Mundialito – the championship of the immigrants in Italy
27.06.2010
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A novel football tournament has recently finished in Ostia, which brought together 22 teams made up of amateur immigrant players, as well as an amateur Italian team and an international team of the Caritas organization. In the final match, the Romanian team defeated the Italian team. The second edition of the MundiaLido, which took place in Ostia in May-June 2010 brought together over 1,000 participants, amateur football players and their supporters, grouped in 24 teams. Besides an Italian team and a team Without Frontiers (of the Caritas organization), there were also immigrant participants from Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Cameron, Cape Verde, Congo, South Korea, Ecuador, Ethiopia, France, Japan, Northern Ireland, Madagascar, Marocco, the Republic or Moldavia, Peru, Poland, Romania, Spain, Tunis and Ukraine. The aim of the competition was to sensitize the public regarding the integration of immigrants and the importance of social cohesion development.
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Life projects for unaccompanied immigrant minors
20.06.2010
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Under the aegis of the Council of Europe, representatives of the child protection authorities and of the institutions responsible for the problem of immigrant integration from several European countries, together with UNICEF representatives, discussed in Rome between the 9th and 10th of June 2010 the way in which the concept of life project can be used to manage the situation of the unaccompanied immigrant minors over the age of 15. The details are available at www.coe.int/migration. This could be one of the last actions of the Council of Europe in this field, as a result of the decision that the migration department disappear in the context of the activity restructuring process of this organization, proposed by the new Secretary General. The Committee of Ministers within the Council of Europe adopted in 2007 a recommendation to the member states in which this "life project" concept is proposed as a reference point for the management of the situation of unaccompanied minor immigrants
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The Muslims of Romania protest against Gaza blockade
19.06.2010
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At the initiative of a group of students belonging to different confessions from Constanta, the Muslim Association of Romania organizes on the 19th of June 2010 a public manifestation to protest against the maintenance of the blockage in the Gaza region and the recent military operations in the region.
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Romanian participation in the European Integration Forum
16.06.2010
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ARCA and the Intercultural Institute Timisoara will represent Romania in the third edition of the European Integration Forum, which will take place in Brussels on the 24th and 25th of June 2010. The Romanian representatives will present in the forum the conclusions of the "Migrant in Romania" National Seminar.
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Good practice guide regarding city intercultural policies
15.06.2010
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Eurofound will lunch in July, in collaboration with the CLIP (Cities for Local Integration Policies) European Network, a guide with recommendations for the local authorities regarding the inclusion of an intercultural dimension in public policies, paying special attention to the problem of the integration of immigrants. www.migrant.ro will present this guide as soon as it is published. Download the guide summary.
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Discussions regarding the law of foreigners
14.06.2010
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Several NGOs developing activities addressed to refugees, the majority being implementation partners of UNHCR Romania, took part on the 14th of June in a consultation with representatives of the Romanian Office for Immigration, discussing the revision of the legislation regarding the foreign citizens residing in Romania. For details you can apply to ARCA, CNRR and ADO SAH ROM organizations.
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Metropolis Conference 2010
05.06.2010
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The 15th International Metropolis Conference 2010 will take place on 4-8 October in The Hague. The International Metropolis Project (www.metropolis.net) is a forum for bridging research, policy and practice on migration and diversity. Details and registration to the conference at www.metropolis2010.org
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Completion of the process to obtain Romanian citizenship
31.05.2010
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296 persons swore the oath of faith in order to obtain the Romanian citizenship on Monday, 31st of May 2010. The oath ceremony took place at the headquarters of the National Institute of Magistracy, in the presence of the president of the National Authority for Citizenship, Nicoleta Eucarie. According to a Release of the Ministry of Justice, the Commission for Citizenship has solved 14,038 applications since the beginning of the year. 13,227 of these applications referring to the re-acquisition of the Romanian citizenship were formulated by the former Romanian citizens who had lost the Romanian citizenship for reasons non-imputable to them, 672 applications referring to the re-acquisition of the Romanian citizenship came from the former Romanian citizens who had waived the Romanian citizenship and 139 applications referring to the acquisition of the Romanian citizenship were formulated by people who had never had the Romanian citizenship. Since the beginning of this year the National Authority for Citizenship has registered 30,430 applications to acquire and re-acquire the Romanian citizenship. According to the law, the Romanian citizenship can be acquired the day the oath of faith toward Romania is taken, when the Romanian citizenship document, attesting that one is a Romanian citizen, is issued. Since the beginning of this year 1,785 people have taken the oath of faith toward Romania.
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The role of social dialogue in promoting decent work and social inclusion for everybody in Europe
26.05.2010
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The conference was organized in Bucharest on the 27th of May by the SOLIDAR European network and ADO SAH ROM, in the framework of the project "Decent work for everybody: the key to efficient industrial relations". The project financed by DG Employment, Social Affairs and Social Inclusion aims to create o better understanding of the connection between decent work for everybody in Europe and efficient social dialogue in order to consolidate the European social model, as well as to emphasize the need to place decent work in the center of the policies of the European Union and the member states, fighting thus against the present economic and financial crisis. Focusing mainly on the sectors with a high incidence of precarious work (construction, home care...) and on the most vulnerable groups (youth, migrants without legal forms...) in six European countries (Estonia, Germany, Lithuania, Romania, Italy, Sweden) SOLIDAR and its partners in this project have reflected upon the challenges which threaten to deteriorate the decent work and social dialogue at the level of company, sector, national or European level. The project has also tried to emphasize the role of the social partners in fighting against precarious work conditions and in promoting decent work, employment and qualitative jobs.
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Successes and problems of the Arab community of Timisoara reflected in central mass media
11.05.2010
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The Arab school functioning in Timisoara with teachers from Syria and with the possibility of obtaining a Syrian baccalaureate degree, but also the problems the Arab community of Timisoara has to face are described in an article in the daily newspaper România Liberă
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The International Day of Cultural Diversity, under the aegis of Alliance of Civilizations
10.05.2010
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On the 21st of May, The Seherezada Foundation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Romania organize in Bucharest a reception where organizations involved in the Romanian activities carried out in the framework of the agenda proposed within the Alliance of Civilizations are invited. Details regarding the event and the activities developed in this context will be presented in issue 7 of the magazine Migrant in Romania.
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Migration management and immigration integration – priority for EU future
09.05.2010
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In the report presented to the EU Council on the 8th of May by the Reflection Group regarding the future of EU in the perspective of 2030, led by the former Spanish Prime-minister Felipe Gonzales, the management of migration and the integration of immigrants are considered important priorities. The need for a pro-active policy regarding migration and the need for extra-European immigrants in order to have a demographic balance in the following years are also mentioned. The report text is available at
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The European Commission presents its priorities for the so-called “Stockholm Programme” to modernise and harmonise EU justice and home affairs policies
21.04.2010
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Immigration, data protection, security and civil rights feature among twenty measures which the Commission intends to prioritise in the field of justice and home affairs in the years to come. Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström identified the rights of asylum seekers and the rules of seasonal workers as the two main priorities in terms of immigration. Italy, Spain and Malta claim to represent EU borders and not only national frontiers in facing regular waves of immigrants coming from the southern or eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Other EU countries should help them to carry part of the financial burden of hosting asylum seekers, they argue. "Europeans must act together to deal with immigration and asylum policies," write Commission Vice-President Viviane Reding, in charge of justice, and home affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmström, in an opinion piece published on EurActiv website. "We want to avoid situations where people are shopping from one country to the next for the most lenient asylum policies. EU solidarity means setting up a common asylum system but also ensuring the successful integration of legal migrants," they argue. In 2011, the Commission will start "to review the national asylum systems of the member states and identify the issues related to capacities which will enable member states to support each other in building capacity," according to a note from the EU executive, to be published today. A new proposal on the "joint processing of asylum applications," aimed at enforcing mutual recognition of the rights of refugees, will not be presented until 2014. Meanwhile, the Swedish commissioner will present in 2010 a legislative proposal to regulate the access of seasonal migrants from third-countries to Europe.
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ILO study focuses new attention on adopting a “rights-based approach” to meet the needs of the world’s 105 million migrant workers
07.04.2010
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Amid growing challenges due to the global economic crisis, a new ILO study highlights the need to adopt a "rights-based approach" to provide a "fair deal" for the 105 million migrant workers of the world.
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The consolidation of the EU framework on integration: Report to the 2010 Ministerial Conference on Integration
01.04.2010
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Political debates on integration are held regularly as part of the Ministerial Conferences on Integration (Groningen 2004, Potsdam 2007, Vichy 2008). In order to contribute to the forthcoming ministerial conference, which is due to be held in Zaragoza, Spain, on 15 and 16 April 2010, this recently-released report, authored by the European Commission, highlights the progress made and the steps that must be taken in the context of the Stockholm Programme in order to promote and improve integration strategies.
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An EU without borders – also for long-term visa holders
28.03.2010
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At the moment an Argentinean working for a French company in Spain cannot travel to France for a meeting on his long-term visa. But that will change from 5 April following the fact that the Parliament backed the new rules allowing non-EU nationals staying in a member state on a long-stay visa to travel to most other EU countries under the same conditions as the holder of a residence permit.
The new rules approved by the EP on 9 March put an end to a "simply unacceptable" situation, according to Carlos Coelho, a Portuguese member of the EPP group, who drafted the report. "More than 1 million people were affected by these restrictions last year," he said during a debate in plenary,
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European human rights bodies call for decisive action against racism and xenophobia
23.03.2010
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In a joint statement ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) within the OSCE, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) within the Council of Europe and the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) strongly condemn manifestations of racism and xenophobia, with a particular focus on the Internet:
"We must remain vigilant in the face of racist behaviour and incidents, including hate crimes and malicious expressions of hate and racist sentiments on the Internet.
"Our organizations are alarmed by patterns and manifestations of racism such as the ever-increasing use of the Internet by racist groups for recruitment, radicalisation, command and control, as well as for the intimidation and harassment of opponents. The Internet has become an important communications channel that links people in "cyberspace", who then meet and take action in the physical world.
"Social networking sites are now prime locations for the spread of racist and xenophobic views, especially among young people. We must challenge such views, while being careful not to undermine freedom of expression.
"The danger emanating from hate spread through the Internet has long been recognised by the international community and our organizations dedicate serious attention to this issue. Prominent examples include the ECRI General Policy Recommendation N° 6 on Combating the Dissemination of Racist, Xenophobic and Antisemitic Material via the Internet and the upcoming 22 March ODIHR expert meeting on challenges of combating crimes motivated by hate on the Internet.
"At the same time, we strongly believe in the huge potential of the Internet to overcome bias and prejudices based on characteristics including race, colour, language, nationality or national origin or religion. This potential should be fully utilised.
"We, the signatories of this statement, believe that:
- governments should investigate and prosecute criminal threats of violence based on racial, ethnic, religious or other bias and fully use existing domestic and international legal instruments and co-operation channels in this regard;
- governments should provide training to law enforcement officers and prosecutors on addressing hate crimes motivated by racist, xenophobic, anti-Semitic or other related bias on the Internet;
- governments should reflect on whether national legislation provides an adequate basis to respond to crimes motivated by racist, xenophobic, anti-Semitic or other related bias on the Internet;
- governments should establish or expand educational programmes for children and young people about expressions motivated by racist, xenophobic, anti-Semitic or other related bias they may encounter on the Internet and include media literacy training in school curricula;
- effective measures addressing hate on the Internet that do not endanger freedom of speech and expression should be identified and disseminated;
- civil society should explore ways of utilising the popularity of social networking sites to combat racism;
- the efforts of the civil society to monitor the Internet for manifestations of hate, and efforts to share and publicise the findings should be encouraged and supported;
- the Internet industry should take an active role in addressing the issue of hate on the Internet and develop and implement effective complaints response mechanisms while respecting freedom of expression."
Ambassador Janez Lenarcic
Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)
Morten Kjaerum
Director of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA)
Nils Muiznieks
Chair of the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI)
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Living in Limbo. Forced migrant destitution in Europe
18.03.2010
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Today Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Europe releases a report on destitution of forced
migrants in twelve EU Member States (Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy,
Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom) and Ukraine. The
report shows that it is not fate but policies of states that completely exclude
certain groups of migrants from any official assistance and leave them in distress
and penury. Access to housing, health care, education, welfare and work are
especially worrisome. The policies across the different states are not coherent: But
they are violating the human rights of the affected migrants and cause severe social
problems. The EU must develop laws that ensure respect of human rights for everybody
regardless of status. Today Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Europe releases a report on destitution of forced
migrants in twelve EU Member States (Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy,
Malta, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom) and Ukraine. The
report shows that it is not fate but policies of states that completely exclude
certain groups of migrants from any official assistance and leave them in distress
and penury. Access to housing, health care, education, welfare and work are
especially worrisome. The policies across the different states are not coherent: But
they are violating the human rights of the affected migrants and cause severe social
problems. The EU must develop laws that ensure respect of human rights for everybody
regardless of status.
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Outcome for Policy Change (OPC): Common European Monitoring, Analysis and Recommendations from the Migrant Integration Policy Index (MIPEX) indicators
12.03.2010
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The project OPC-MIPEX is implemented in the period January 2010-June 2011, in the 27 Member States along with Canada, Norway and Switzerland. The project is co-financed by the European Commission within the European Fund for Third Country National. Managing partners for this project are British Council Brussels and Migration Policy Group. MIPEX is developed for the first time in Romania and Soros Foundation, with the Migration and Development Program is the national organization partner. The OPC-MIPEX project is implemented at country level together with British Council Bucharest.
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New visa procedures for Great Britain
21.01.2010
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Taking into account the increase of visa applications for Great Britain, the London government reconsidered the way applications are processed in Europe. The measure aims to make the decisional process more efficient and standardized and provides that visa applications for Great Britain formulated by third country nationals living in Romania and Bulgaria will be processed in Warsaw starting with February 15th.
"To make the decisional process more efficient and standardized, visa applications filed by the citizens of different nationalities living on the Romanian and Bulgarian territory will be processed in Warsaw starting with February 15th", informs the Embassy of Great Britain in Bucharest.
According to the quoted source, those who want to apply for a visa for Great Britain have to fill in an on-line form. Then, they have to make an on-line appointment at the Visa Department within the British Embassy in Bucharest, to hand in the necessary documents and to have their fingerprints taken, according to the procedures in force.
The applications will be sent to the Visa Department within the British Embassy in Warsaw to be verified by the security personnel. The decisions will be announced to Bucharest in a maximum of fifteen work days and handed in to the applicants.
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More than 20,000 people received Romanian citizenship in the year 2009
12.01.2010
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Between 01.01.2009 - 15.11.2009, the Commission for Citizenship within the Ministry of Justice resolved 20,148 applications to acquire and reacquire Romanian citizenship
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The number of applications to reacquire the Romanian citizenship
01.01.2010
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According to the site www.basarabeni.ro, the number of applications registered by the Citizenship Direction within the Ministry of Justice is of 12,600 in 2009
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The guide regarding the rights, obligations and integration opportunities for TCN citizens in Romania
01.01.2010
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ARCA Organization, Soros Foundation and ADO SAH ROM Association issued the Guide regarding the rights, obligations and integration opportunities for TCN citizens in Romania.
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Events in the Palestinian community in Cluj
01.01.2010
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On the 27th of November the newly founded Association of the Palestinians in Transilvania was launched publicly.
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Conclusions of National Working Groups for Integration meeting are under discussion on the forum
04.11.2009
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The first issue of the magazine Migrant in Romania will soon be released
04.11.2009
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It will also be available online on this website
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