The Congress Current Affairs Committee met on 19 June 2018 in Strasbourg, France. Items on the agenda of the meeting, which was opened by Nawel Rafik-Elmrini (France, SOC), included a report on ‟Border regions facing migration phenomena”. This report, prepared by Eirini Dourou (Greece, SOC), will be submitted for adoption by the Chamber of Regions at the 35th session of the Congress (6-8 November 2018).
The committee also examined terms of reference for a report on the role of local and regional authorities in safeguarding young people’s social rights, presented by Piero Fassino (Italy, SOC).
John Warmisham (United Kingdom, SOC), Thematic Rapporteur on Roma-related activities, and Michael Guet of the Council of Europe's Division for Roma and Travellers took stock of the present situation in Europe. In particular, they provided information on the results of Congress initiatives, including the Declaration of Mayors and Elected Local and Regional Representatives of Council of Europe Member States against anti-Gypsyism and the Alliance of Cities and Regions for Roma Inclusion.
Lastly, the situation of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Europe was debated on the basis of a discussion paper submitted by Svitlana Bogatyrchyk-Kryvko (Ukraine, CRE).
