On 20 October Social Platform met with European Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos, responsible for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship. Together with the citizens’ movement WeMove we delivered signatures of 132,386 people from across all EU Member States, against the criminalisation of humanitarian assistance to migrants. The petition was handed over by Manuel Blanco, a citizen who […]
Today [12 October], Caritas Luxembourg’s Paul Galles will receive the European Citizen Prize 2016 from the European Parliament for his work with migrants and refugees. Caritas organisations across Europe congratulate Paul for this reward, and are proud of this European recognition that “caritas in action” receives. Paul Galles works as a coordinator of the solidarity […]
Last week the European Commission and the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) invited civil society organisations to hear their views in preparation of the third meeting of the European Migration Forum that will take place at the beginning of 2017. Social Platform is represented in the Forum’s consultative bureau, along with our member the […]
“No one puts their children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land”, writes Warsan Shire, a Kenyan-born Somali poet in a poem describing the desperate situation of those fleeing war. We have all seen the images on television and media of overcrowded rubber boats on the Mediterranean sea, or worse, washed […]
I recently discovered that Social Platform has a very shocking neighbour only two buildings away from the office: the Alliance for Peace and Freedom (AFP). Why shocking? We both share an appealing and progressive name. We are both “staunch supporters of the fundamental human right to a peaceful life with a decent standard of living” […]
On 8 September I attended a debate in the European Parliament about the integration of third country nationals in the European Union. Among the invited guests were two passionate women from very different national contexts in Sweden and Poland. Amanda Lind from Härnösand, a city in the north of Sweden, presented the city’s three factors […]
25 October, 14.00-16.30 at Social Platform – Register here Agenda 14.00-14.10 Introductory remarks 14.10-15.20 Safe passages to the EU By end of this year Social Platform shall develop our messaging on safe passages (read my blog on the topic). This will serve as a stepping stone for our messages we will develop on the economic inclusion […]
Almost a year ago, the EU held its first Fundamental Rights colloquium, focusing on Antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred. This was a strong political signal that the EU was finally willing to prioritise the fight against Antisemitism and Islamophobia. The European Commission – thanks to the appointment of a coordinator on anti-Muslim hatred – has had […]
The level of racist and xenophobic violence and speech targeting migrants and refugees in Europe is reaching new heights, as the European Network Against Racism’s map highlights. Not a month has passed without an assault, a hate speech incident, or new discriminatory policy against asylum seekers and migrants, from Germany to Hungary and from Finland to […]
On the 14th of September 2016, Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker delivered his State of the Union speech to Members of the European Parliament gathered in plenary in Strasbourg, France, reflecting on key challenges for Europe and priorities for future political action. A notably positive element was President Juncker’s emphasis on the need to ‘implement the […]
