The Impact of Transnational Municipal Networks (TMN) on EU Migration Policies

Simon Curtis’ words „while nations talk, cities act“ may never have been more accurate than in the current migration debate of the European Union. While efforts of EU Member States to achieve a common solutions to the so called “refugee crisis” seem to turn in circles, it is cities and their networks who take action. When nation-states refuse rescue ships save harbour in the Mediterranean, cities such as Barcelona, Naples, Bonn and Köln call upon their governments to respect international and European commitments and offer refuge. In this pragmatic spirit cities currently take on new challenges more closely related to migration than integration policies. Municipalities and their networks seize the window of opportunity in migration policies provoked by the power vacuum on EU-level to demand a place at the negotiation table. Therefore, we address the following research question: How can municipalities use TMN to represent their interests on EU-level? Based on document analysis and qualitative interviews with representatives of cities and TMN lobbying for strengthening municipalities on EU-level, we found that cities make use of their network structures at EU level such as EUROCITIES, Integrating Cities, Solidarity Cities and the Council of European Municipalities and Regions to engage in city diplomacy. They offer their expertise to the European Union and present calls and recommendations for more cooperation in the EU multi level system. Furthermore, our contribution shows that municipalities use different transnational municipal networks in the field of migration and integration policies depending on their size and their political ideology.