The European Cities Network on Migration visits Lampedusa to examine the realities of first reception, its human costs, and how legal migration pathways could offer alternatives to dangerous journeys.
European Cities Network on Migration
After the Stakeholders Dialogue at the European Parliament (29 June 2026), the European Cities Network on Migration moves from the Brussels policy debate to the realities behind it. Lampedusa is the first of three field visits — Lampedusa, Gaziantep, Aleppo — following the migration story from arrival, to integration, to origin, in preparation for the 2027 “Stop Tragedies, Attract Skills” Summit.
Lampedusa is where the absence of legal pathways becomes visible. Since the 2013 shipwreck that killed more than 300 people, the island has been both a symbol of Europe’s migration tragedy and a working laboratory of first reception. Today it functions mainly as a transit point: people usually stay 24–48 hours at the hotspot, managed by the Italian Red Cross, before transfer to mainland Italy.
The visit is not about crisis. It asks three questions: how does first reception actually work, what does it cost in human terms, and what would functioning legal pathways change?
The delegation brings together MEPs and representatives of EU institutions, think tanks and NGOs.
DAY 1 – SUNDAY 20 SEPTEMBER | ARRIVAL
Afternoon Arrival of the delegation
19:30 Welcome dinner & framing briefing
DAY 2 – MONDAY 21 SEPTEMBER | THE RECEPTION SYSTEM
09:00 – 11:30 Visit to the hotspot (Contrada Imbriacola)
Meeting: European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA), Frontex, Italian Red Cross (TBC) and Save the Children.
12.00 – 13.00 Institutional briefing – UNHCR
13:15 – 14.30 Lunch
15.00 – 16.00 Institutional briefing – IOM (Hotel – Mosaico del Sol)
16.30 – 19.15 Visit to the Porta d’Europa memorial / Local cemetery / DNA identification – meeting with the Comitato 3 Ottobre
19:30 Dinner
DAY 3 – TUESDAY 22 SEPTEMBER
09:30 – 11.30 Forum Lampedusa solidale / Mediterranean Hope (TBC)
Exchange with the civic society representatives — the human story behind the statistics.
12.00 – 13.00 Municipality of Lampedusa (TBC)
13:15 – 14.30 Lunch
15:00- 16:30 Discussion
FNF/ELF interviews