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Europe's local and regional authorities may be at the heart of the solution to the recent refugee crisis and successful implementation of the EU migration policy. Members of the EPP Group in the European Committee of the Regions called for direct access to the financial resources made available by the EU in order make use of both the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund and the Emergency Assistance Instrument, at their thematic conference entitled "The role of the EU's regional and local authorities in addressing the refugee crisis: our common challenge, our collective response" which took place in Thessaloniki, Greece on 16 September 2016. At the event co-organised by the EPP-CoR Group and the Region of Central Macedonia in Greece, the participants underlined the value of European solidarity. In his keynote address, Dimitris Avramopoulos, EU Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, former Mayor of Athens and former EPP-CoR member, underlined that solidarity and responsibility are vital especially in times where populism and nationalism gain ground. Mr Avramopoulos stated that "The voices calling for walls, fences and closed borders are getting louder. They are the same voices that ask for solidarity "a la carte", and turning commitments and responsibility into populism and demagogy, when they go from Brussels back to their countries." In this context, he appealed to the EPP family to be a solid pillar of stability, reliability and prospect for Europe. President of the EPP-CoR Group, Michael Schneider, agreed that finding a solution to the current crisis is necessary for Europe to remain united: "we believe that providing answers to the uneasy relationship between migration and security is crucial to save the EU from disruptive political forces and from the re-nationalization of the EU policies". Whilst co-organiser of the conference, Governor of Central Macedonia Apostolos Tzitzikostas added "it is a defining moment for the European Union since this crucially challenging issue calls for a shared policy vision, based on solidarity and a political consensus around that vision at all levels." Speaking at the event, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, leader of the Nea Demokratia party, praised the remarkable efforts of the Greek regional and local authorities and  people in dealing with the refugee crisis regardless of their limited resources and lack of sufficient support from the government. He appealed to EU politicians to share the message of solidarity to be united in facing this crisis. In a video message, EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management, Christos Stylianides,  reassured participants that Greece is not alone while referring to the recent 115€ million additional funding which has been allocated under the EU Emergency Support Instrument to improve the living conditions for refugees, migrants and asylum seekers in Greece. The EPP-CoR conference gathered many other speakers representing different levels of government, international organisations, EU institutions and NGOs: José Carreira - Executive Director, European Asylum Support Office (EASO), Daniel Esdras - Chief of the International Organisation of Migration (IOM) mission in Greece, Jean-Louis De Brouwer - Director for Europe, Eastern Neighbourhood and Middle East, DG Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection, European Commission, Grigorios Apostolou - Head of Greece Liaison Office of the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union (Frontex), Christos Dimopoulos - Protection and integration projects manager, Doctors of the World – Greece, Hans Janssen - Mayor of Oisterwijk (The Netherlands), CoR rapporteur on "Protection of refugees in their areas of origin: a new perspective" and Olgierd Geblewicz – Marshal of Westpomerania region, CoR rapporteur on the "Legal migration package". In the Thessaloniki Declaration adopted by the EPP-CoR Group members stressed that all levels of government, need to have a say in the design and implementation of the EU migration policy, and emphasised the importance of a fair burden-sharing in relation to the refugee issue. They recalled that re-established border checks within the Schengen Area would have a negative impact on inter-regional and cross-border economic cooperation. In this respect, they underlined the need to safeguard the EU external borders to help prevent future threats and ensure the appropriate level of internal security within the EU. They also stressed that the protection of refugees in their areas of origin must become an element in dealing with the growing number of displaced people and that the EU needs to invest more resources in designing an integrated and long-term roadmap helping people to rebuild their lives in dignity as close as possible to their country of origin.

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