Regional governments should have bigger say

The Forum for Immigration in Majorca yesterday presented a manifesto calling for responsibility in the matter to be handed over from central to regional governments, which would “make a better regulation of migratory workers possible.” Josefina Sintes, head of the Council of Majorca's social welfare deparment and chairwoman of the Forum, admitted yesterday that it had been difficult to reach agreement on the eight points in the manifesto, which is designed to raise awareness and help social integration. The fourth point in the manifesto says that “regulating immigrants from outside European Union countries is exclusive to the State” but goes on to say that existing legislation is not the best reference for integration and so responsibility should be transferred to the regional governments.Sintes said that the government representative's office has informed the Forum that it does not adhere to this point. The text says that immigration is “a very delicate social phenomenon, the consquence of a situation of world-wide economic and social imbalance.” The manifesto underlines the need to start “active policies which facilitate access to the labour market by immigrants, through the corresponding permits and contracts,” which is the fifth point. The seventh point calls for “clear and forceful social policies for immigrants from regional and local administrations. The last point calls for “collaboration and cooperation between administrations and economic and social agencies leading to positive action for integration.” The Forum was set up in 1999 as an area for debating everything related to immigration.