​​​​On 21 June, the European Parliament hosted a high-level conference on migration management with the aim to emphasize the urgency of the topic and raise additional awareness ahead of the June European Council which is due to evaluate the progress on the implementation of the Malta Declaration and the external aspects of migration. The conference saw participation by President of the European Parliament, Mr Antonio Tajani, President of the European Commission, Mr Jean-Claude Juncker, Vice-President of the European Commission and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Ms Federica Mogherini and a number of other stakeholders, including members of the European Committee of the Regions.

Speaking at the conference, member of the Flemish Parliament, EA Group coordinator in the CIVEX commission and CoR rapporteur on the "Action Plan on the integration of third country nationals", Mr Karl Vanlouwe underlined that migrants need to be fully integrated in the society so that they don't remain newcomers forever. He took the example of Flanders, where the integration policy prescribes mandatory benchmarks based on the acquisition of language and civic integration, the former aiming to ensure that newcomers interact with their new community and the latter referring to the transmission of norms and values so that newcomers become citizens through their mind-sets. He also added that migration policy should be channelled through local and regional authorities, as they are the first to be confronted with the specific opportunities and challenges involved in the process.

Participants agreed that the conference could be the starting point of a process leading to strengthened interinstitutional cooperation in the area of migration.

Mr Vanlouwe's opinion on the "Action Plan on the integration of third country nationals" was adopted with unanimity at the Committee of the Regions' plenary session in December 2016.