EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities DG
Brussels, 18/05/2005
EMPL/E2/LPi-dr (2005)11627
Re:
Seminar on policy measures to ensure access to decent housing for migrants
and ethnic minorities
Dear Mr/Mrs,
I have much pleasure in inviting you to take part in a seminar on policy measures to
ensure access to decent housing for migrants and ethnic minorities that is being
organised by Directorate General Employment and Social Affairs of the European
Commission on Thursday 9th June 2005.
The seminar is being organised in the context of the EU's social inclusion process. While
almost all Member States clearly identify immigrants and ethnic minority people as being
at risk of social exclusion, it was given relatively little attention by most Member States
in their National Action Plans on poverty and social exclusion (NAPs/inclusion).
In order to support the development of more coherent and integrated policies in relation
to access to housing for migrants and ethnic minority people as part of the further
development of Member States' NAPs/incl, the Commission engaged the University of
Dundee to undertake a thematic study using transnational comparisons to analyse and
identify the different ways which access to housing for migrants and ethnic minorities can
help to combat poverty and social exclusion and contribute to promoting social inclusion,
specifying the mix of policy approaches that can assist in this regard. The seminar will be
the first occasion at which the findings of the report will be presented and discussed.
The purpose of the seminar is to bring together a group of about 50 key people
representing national policy makers, researchers, organisations, and professionals
involved in transnational projects promoting social inclusion and Commission officials to
hear about and discuss the findings of the report.
The participants are expected to consider the implications of the report for the further
development of work on this issue and in the context of the Open Method of Coordination on poverty and social exclusion.
The seminar will begin with a presentation of the report's findings. After that we have
picked out three key topics arising from the report to focus discussions around.
These are:
Commission européenne, B-1049 Bruxelles / Europese Commissie, B-1049 Brussel - Belgium. Telephone: (32-2) 299 11 11.
o The housing situation of ethnic minorities and immigrants
o Policy measures to facilitate access to housing
o Housing vulnerability for immigrants and ethnic minority people: discriminatory
practices, integration strategies and information deficits
The event will take place in:
Hotel Bedford
135-137, rue du Midi
1000 Brussels
A copy of the full report will be sent to people as they indicate they will be able to attend
the meeting.
Please note that the seminar will be conducted in English and French.
The European commission will book and pay for all flight and hotel accommodation
arrangements. Therefore, please complete the form attached and send it back to the
secretary of the meeting (Dative Réant – fax : 0032 2 29 90 509) so that she can make the
necessary reservations.
If you have any queries about the content of the seminar please contact our colleague
Luca Pirozzi (e-mail: luca.pirozzi@cec.eu.int , tel: 00 32 2 2951703). For organisational
details please contact Dative Réant, DG Employment and Social Affairs, Unit E2 (Social
protection: fight against exclusion and coordination), European Commission, Rue Joseph
II 27, Brussels B-1000, Belgium, Tel. +32 2 2990502, Fax +32 2 2990509 Email:
dative.reant@cec.eu.int.
I very much hope you will be able to take part.
With best wishes
Yours sincerely,
(signed)
Jérôme VIGNON
Director
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