Recent events in the Mediterranean Sea off the coasts of the European Union have tragically reminded us that we are failing to date to protect the lives and fundamental rights of people who seek safety and opportunities in the EU. Once again, the European response has been half-hearted an lacking solidarity.Thousands of migrants have died over the years in the attempt to reach the EU for a number of different reasons – fleeing from direct political persecution, from war, from environmental degradation or from economic hardship. Local and regional authorities, who are responsible to provide reception facilities, health care, access to education and housing for those who arrive and to work with their local population to facilitate integration and acceptance, continue to be confronted with the challenges produced by the terribly slow progress at national and EU level. Join us to debate this topic with Barbara Duden, 1st Vice-president of the Hamburg Regional Parliament and of the CoR CIVEX Commission, Anna Terròn I Cusi, former Catalan Minister for European Affairs and later on Spanish Secretary of State for Migration, and Stefano Sannino, Permanent Representative of Italy to the European Union. The debates will be moderated by Mark Rogerson, Director at Grapevine communications.