This conference will provide an opportunity to exchange good practices used in creating and maintaining partner relations between diasporas and their countries of origin acknowledging the important role they have in their countries’ development.

In his State of the Union, President Jean-Claude Juncker presented proposals to ensure full EU solidarity on migration and better protection of Europe's external borders. The Commission is proposing to reinforce the European Border and Coast Guard and the EU's Agency for Asylum and is proposing a targeted review of the Return Directive.

At the height of the refugee “crisis” in October 2015, over 7,000 asylum seekers crossed the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Greece per day. This created problematic conditions for refugees in reception centers and overwhelmed Greece as a first country of entry to the EU. In this setting, the EU-Turkey Statement was concluded with the aim of managing migration across the Aegean Sea and curbing arrivals to the EU. Whilst the Statement was effective in reducing the number of arrivals, it has been met with a series of human rights concerns.

The European Commission proposes to reform the EU's common visa policy. It also reports on - and calls for - further progress under the European Agenda on Migration. Finally it mobilises additional funding for Syrian refugees in Turkey.

The Foreign affairs (development) Council meeting of 12 December 2014 has adopted a number of conclusions in the field of migration and development cooperation emphasizing the positive migration and development circle and orientations to strengthen this relation.

On the occasion of 25 November 2014 EP Plenary Debate on Migration, EU new Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship, Dimitris Avramopoulos, introduced the debate and presented the EU main orientations and policy fields for an integrated approach on migration and asylum

On 20 October 2014, the European Ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly, has opened an investigation into how Frontex ensures the respect of fundamental rights of migrants who are subject to forced returns from the EU to their countries of origin.

After ten years of support to families, through its centre of private international family law, the ADDE proposes to study some actual problems experienced by the beneficiaries of the centre.

In the past few days more than 300 people died as a consequence of three different incidents with vessels that were trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa to Europe.

This year, the EMN Conference aims to support the policymaking process on a number of key areas of irregular migration policy, namely readmission, return, reintegration and cooperation with countries of transit and origin, as well as re-entry bans and (alternatives to) detention.

The 7th Meeting of the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) will take place in Stockholm on 14-16 May 2014. The GFMD Civil Society Days are held prior to the meeting, on 12-13 May 2014.

In preparation of the Global Forum on Migration and Development Meeting in Stockholm the 14th to 16th May the Transatlantic Council on Migration published a Council Statement: How Migration Can Advance Development Goals.

Prof. Luis E. Guarnizo (University of California, Davis) will explore the epistemic and ontological origins and evolution of transnationalism as an analytical perspective in migration studies since its origins in the early 1990s.

Tunisia and the EU today formally established a Mobility Partnership. Belgium is one of the ten EU Member States involved in the Partnership.

Tunisia and the EU today formally established a Mobility Partnership. Together with nine other EU Member States, Belgium is involved in the Partnership and signed the joint Declaration.

In a report adopted today the Commission looks at important achievements in strengthening dialogue and cooperation in EU's external migration and asylum policy, but recognizes that more should be done to make further progress.