Representatives from Romanian local and central authorities, as well as civil society and international organisations gathered in Bucharest on 11 April 2024 for a roundtable to discuss “The current and future role of local public authorities in the context of a multilevel governance on migration in Romania”. Project partners from Poland and the Republic of Moldova joined the discussion, sharing insights and practices from their own contexts.

Discussions included an exchange of views with high-level representatives from the central authorities responsible for emergency responses and immigration issues. The participants identified areas that can further strengthen responses and integration mechanisms for migrants and refugees, and increase the role and preparedness of local authorities in that area.

The participants also took stock of the accomplishments and ongoing challenges that stakeholders had encountered in migration management due to Russia’s war of aggression again Ukraine. Furthermore, the roundtable helped to formulate specific proposals for improving multilevel coordination and dialogue, identified areas for possible legal and policy adaptation, and established priorities for capacity building of local public administration institutions.

The roundtable discussion was based on the findings of a country-specific report [E N / ROM], focusing on migration-related challenges and ways forward in the Romanian context.

The Centre of Expertise for Good Governance at the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities organised the roundtable jointly with the Association of Communes of Romania (ACoR) in the framework of the project “Strengthening resilience in local and regional authorities facing migration challenges”. The project is implemented within the Council of Europe Action Plan on Protecting Vulnerable Persons in the Context of Migration and Asylum in Europe, and with the financial contribution of Germany.