14 October saw a debate at the European Committee of the Region's October plenary session regarding the migration crisis, specifically in relation to the situation in the Moria refugee camp in Lesbos, Greece. On 8 September, fire was set to the camp, which resulted in about 12,000 migrants being left homeless in the vicinity of Moria, the largest refugee camp in Europe. ECR Member Nello Musumeci, who serves as President of the Sicily region in Italy, described the experience of Sicily as it relates to immigration in the CoR debate on the topic.

Mr Musumeci pointed out how the Moria situation was not the first crisis of its kind. Speaking on this, he said: "In 2020, the island of Lampedusa experienced over 20,000 arrivals, mostly economic migrants". He called on EU institutions and Member States to address this situation through increased European solidarity and strengthened border security.

Furthermore, Mr Musumeci discussed how it would be beneficial to increase diplomatic relations with third countries to prevent more economic migrants from attempting a dangerous journey to Europe:

"We must increase relations with countries of origin and transit countries so we can prevent a wave of immigration that could deplete those countries of a workforce and make them poorer."

In his speech, the President of the Sicily region has also pointed out it that is necessary to draw a distinction between asylum seekers and economic migrants looking for a better life.