Making migration a driver for development
The European Commission is presenting its views on how migration and mobility can contribute to inclusive and economic social development and how to strengthen global cooperation in this area. The Commission Communication “Maximising the Development Impact of Migration” will provide the basis for a common position of the EU and its Member States at the High-level Dialogue on International Migration and Development, organised by the United Nations General Assembly on 3-4 October 2013.
Andris Piebalgs, Commissioner for Development, underlined that "migration should be recognised as a driver of inclusive economic, social and environmental development and, as such, included as a priority in the post-2015 development agenda ".
To promote migration as a driver for development, the Commission calls on all relevant actors to:
- Ensure that development strategies recognise migration and mobility as 'enabling factors' for development
- Respect the dignity and uphold the fundamental and human rights of migrants, regardless of the migrants’ legal status
- Give more consideration to the interlinkages between climate change, environmental degradation and migration
- Recognise the challenges that increasing urbanisation and migration bring for cities and urban regions
- Strengthen migration governance through bilateral and regional cooperation, including by engaging with civil society
- Foster international and regional labour mobility.
To read the full press release: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-13-450_en.htm
To read the full Communication “Maximising the Development Impact of Migration”: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/e-library/documents/policies/immigration/general/docs/maximising_the_development_impact_of_migration.pdf 
