On 10 December 2019, EMN Belgium organized its annual asylum and migration policy event in which recent national and EU developments in the field of international protection, legal migration and integration, and irregular migration and return were discussed. 

This report provides a broad overview of recent trends in international migration flows and migration policies in OECD countries and some non-OECD countries.

The EMN has recently conducted a study on "Beneficiaries of International Protection Travelling to and Contacting Authorities of their Country of Origin”. A short video was created to highlight some of the key findings of this study

_{The conference 'From Tampere 20 to Tampere 2.0: Towards a new programme (2020-2024) for EU migration and asylum policies 20 years after the Tampere conclusions?' was held in Helsinki on the 24th and the 25th of October.}

On 22 October 2019, the Association of Flemish Cities and Municipalities (VVSG) published the results of the survey conducted in the spring of 2019. The results show that especially the search for housing for beneficiaries of international protection is very problematic. The regulations state that, in principle, they must leave the Local Reception Initiative (LOI) within two months. As in the VVSG survey of 2017, half of the respondents do not consider this period to be feasible. For almost 1 in 5, finding housing within this timeframe very exceptionally the case, and only thanks to the possibility to extend the stay in the LOI twice by 1 month.

 

On 8 October 2019, Fedasil launched the new information platform www.fedasilinfo.be. The mobile website provides applicants for international protection (asylum seekers) in Belgium with reliable information in 12 languages, 8 of which include an audio version.

On the occasion of the World Refugee Day, which is organized every year on 20th June by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), Eurostat published an infographic on annual asylum data for 2018 . Eurostat also published its Asylum quarterly report. In the first quarter of 2019, the number of first-time asylum applicants slightly increased : 4% more compared to the 4th quarter of 2018.

On 24 June 2019 (9:00 - 10:45), EASO will launch its Annual Report on the Situation of Asylum in the EU in Brussels. 

 

Today the English translation of the latest report on Human Trafficking and Smuggling from Myria was published. The 2018 report focuses on underage victims of trafficking and smuggling of human beings.

The Federal Public Service Interior has made a short video about foreign unaccompanied minors seeking international protection in Belgium.

Myria, the Belgian Federal Migration Centre, is recruiting a policy officer to work for the Belgian Contact Point of the European Migration Network (EMN).

Voluntary returns to the countries of origin are decreasing. Among others, this is the result of the lower number of asylum applications during the past years.

The government Di Rupo published on 1 December 2011 its coalition agreement. We summarize the most important political goals of the new government with regard to migration and asylum

Eurostat presents its report 'Migrants in Europe - A Statistical Portrait of the First and Second Generation'

The report of the Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism (Centre) offers facts and figures on migration flows to Belgium up to 2009

On December, 20, 2011,The Directive 2011/95/EC was published. The Qualification directive sets standards for the identification of people in need of international protection in the EU either as refugees or as beneficiaries of subsidiary protection.

On 16 December 2011, the Council of Ministers prolonged the temporary provisions concerning restrictions of free access to the labour market for Bulgarian and Romanian workers till 31 December 2013

ECtHR finds Belgium violated Article 3 and 5 of the European Convention on Human Rights by detaining a mother and three children during asylum procedure

Directive 2011/98/EC is a directive on a single application procedure for a single permit for third-country nationals to reside and work in the territory of a Member State and on a common set of rights for third-country workers legally residing in a Member State

In the framework of the formation of a Federal Government, Ms Maggie De Block (Open-VLD) has been appointed as State Secretary for Migration and Asylum Policy and Social Integration. Ms De Block has been sworn in on 6 December 2011

Every month, the Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons publishes a document containing the statistics on the asylum applications and the decisions taken.

The EMN-informs are providing a brief summary of the main policy-relevant findings from an EMN activity.

The Christian Michelsen Institute published a report commissioned by the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration on the Norwegian Information, Return, and Reintegration of Iraqi Nationals to Iraq (IRRINI) Programme. The research has been done in cooperation with the University of Duhok.

Today, the International Affairs Committee in the House of Representatives, adopted a draft law amending provisions relating to the regularization for medical reasons, in order to avoid abuse of this procedure and in particular to discourage manifestly unfounded claims.

The Council approved today amendments to the directive on minimum standards for the qualification and status of third country nationals or stateless persons as beneficiaries of international protection and the content of the protection granted, to be transposed into national law within 2 years.