Barcelona: Seminar on the Situation of European and Moroccan Migrant Workers

The seminar "Mobile Workers in Europe: Protections, Rights, and Representative Structures" was held from February 18 to 20 in Barcelona, ​​Spain. It was organized by ACLI (Associazioni Cristiane dei Lavoratori Italiani) and EZA.

The seminar brought together researchers and institutions from various European countries and Morocco. PICM-IPCM was represented by Vice Presidents Maria Reina Martin and Piergiorgio Sciacqua, who are also senior executives at EZA.

The meeting opened with speeches by Gabriele Luca Fava, Consul General of Italy in Barcelona; Maria Recuero, of the Workers' Union of Catalonia (USO); Father Gianpaolo Ghisleni, of the Italian Christian community of Barcelona; and Maria Reina Martín, Vice President of PICM and EZA. The introductory session was led by Matteo Bracciali, Vice President of the International Federation of ACLI.

The roundtable discussion on the right to leave, remain, and return featured presentations by Toni Ricciardi (Italy), Victor Lucian Ionescu (Romania), and Oksana Pyatkovska (Ukraine). The debate was moderated by Alessandra Rossi, a journalist with RAI. The session on diasporas and cities included Albert Lladó Romero (UCLG, United Cities and Local Governments) and Mar Jiménez (Barcelona City Council). The role of emigrant associations was explored by Roberta Martín, president of Comites (“Comitato degli Italiani all’Estero”) Barcelona, ​​and Gianni Calderone, president of Comites Romania.

The session dedicated to diaspora representation systems featured presentations by Pietro Mariani, of the CGIE (“Consiglio Generale degli Italiani all’Estero”); Juan Miguel Paz, of the General Council of Spanish Citizenship Abroad; and Eric Pestel, of the Associations of Europeans in Paris. Representing the Council of the Moroccan Community Abroad (CCME), its president, Driss El Yazami, presented an institutional overview of Moroccans abroad and detailed the CCME’s missions and role. Emiliano Manfredonia, president of ACLI, expressed his concern about the new European Pact on Migration and Asylum (2024)