LOC20:46
17:46 GMT
BRUSSELS, Nov 24 (KUNA) -- The European Union (EU) Tuesday presented a six-year Action Plan to tackle discrimination and promote equal opportunities for migrants in education, employment, health and housing.
The '2021-2027 Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion' was unveiled at an online press conference in Brussels today by EU Commissioner for Promoting European Way of Life, Margaritis Schinas, and EU Commissioner for Interior Affairs, Ylva Johansson.
"Migrants are آ‘us', not آ‘them'. Everyone has a role to play in making sure our societies are cohesive and prosperous. Integration and inclusion mean listening to migrant communities and ensuring that everyone can enjoy rights, regardless of background," said Johansson.
Around 34 million EU inhabitants were born outside the EU (around 8% of the EU population), and 10% of young people (15-34 years) born in the EU have at least one foreign-born parent, said an European Commission press release.
Migrants and EU citizens with a migrant background play a key role in European society and in different sectors of our economy, including as essential workers. However, they continue to face challenges in terms of access to education, employment, health and social inclusion, it noted.
While the coronavirus pandemic has impacted all our lives, people with a migrant background can be particularly exposed to the coronavirus due to higher incidence of poverty, overcrowded housing conditions and working in jobs where physical distancing is difficult, it said.
The action plan will be implemented by mobilising EU funding and by creating partnerships with all those involved: migrants, host communities, social and economic partners, civil society, local and regional authorities as well as the private sector. (end)
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