Today, the European Parliament adopted a resolution wrapping up the fact-finding investigation by the Working Group on Frontex Scrutiny with 366 votes in favour, 154 against, and 15 abstaining. The Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) inter alia share concerns over the situation in Greece, Lithuania and Hungary.

The first 15 asylum seekers have arrived today at the new Fedasil reception centre in Grimbergen. The new reception centre, which will accommodate up to 100 people, is specifically intended for people with medical problems, as well as their families.

On the proposal of the Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration Nicole de Moor, the Council of Ministers agreed today on the extension of support measures for the reception and support of asylum seekers in the Brussels-Capital Region. A total of 2000 places are now available for asylum seekers who cannot immediately get a place in the Fedasil reception network.

The federal government has reached an agreement today on the 2024 budget. While 1.2 billion euros will improve the budget balance, 500 million euros will cover additional needs, including in the asylum and migration field.

Fedasil has a budget for financing specific projects relating to the reception of asylum seekers (and other reception beneficiaries). The Agency has launched its call for projects for the year 2024. In 2024, the focus will be on projects that focus on the activation and participation in society of asylum seekers staying in the reception network.

On the proposal of the Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration Nicole de Moor, the Council of Ministers approved today a draft royal decree relating to the granting of material assistance to applicants for international protection benefiting from professional income.

The national conference organised by EMN Austria this year will facilitate an insightful discussion among experts on the efficient and humanitarian management of EU’s external borders.

A Belgian expert participated in the conference of the Austrian Contact Point to the European Migration Network (EMN) focusing on opportunities and challenges in the management of EU's external borders. Participants inter alia identified the weaponization of migration as a major challenge concerning the protection of EU's external borders.

On the proposal of the Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration Nicole de Moor, the Council of Ministers agreed today that people who live outside the reception network receive information and support from Fedasil. The Council of Ministers approved an action plan and funding for this purpose.

Frontex revealed today that the number of detections of irregular border crossings at EU’s external borders rose by one fifth (+18%) in the first eight months of 2023 to over 232 350 and that this increase was primarily driven by the number of arrivals through the Central Mediterranean, which remains the main migratory route into the EU. 

Today, the Council of State ruled that the use of the extreme emergency procedure was justified and that the decision not to offer shelter to single male asylum seekers violates the right to reception that asylum seekers have by law.

The first residents have arrived today in the reception center in Alveringem (West Flanders). These are Syrian families who were resettled from Lebanon.

Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration Nicole de Moor has decided to temporarily stop receiving single males in the national network for the reception of asylum seekers. Through this decision, the Secretary of State intends to anticipate “the growing influx of families and children to absolutely avoid children ending up on the streets in winter.”

Today, the first residents have arrived in the new reception centre in Walcourt, which can host 49 asylum seekers. Other residents, mainly families, will arrive gradually over the next few days.

In today’s Chamber judgment in the case of Camara v. Belgium, the European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that there had been a violation of Article 6 (right to a fair hearing) of the European Convention on Human Rights. It could not accept that the time taken by the Belgian authorities in the present case to enforce a court order aimed at protecting human dignity had been reasonable.

This hybrid annual conference will debate the latest developments and challenges in the EU’s internal and external border management. It will analyse the latest proposals and reforms on the functioning and operation of EU border management systems, including Schengen, as well as Frontex’ role and responsibilities. A particular focus will be given to the ongoing situation at the EU’s eastern border.

This conference will examine the issues at the core of the current debates about Schengen like the balance between solidarity & responsibility between States in liaison with secondary movements of asylum seekers, the persistence of controls at Schengen internal borders, the way to monitor human rights at the external borders, the increasing recourse to large-scale databases,...

The International Knowledge Platform of the Dutch Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) organises a two-day hybrid international event on sustainable asylum reception. Based on presentations, lectures, and inspiring examples, discussions will focus on the asylum reception centre of the future.

This seminar will examine new findings on how Schengen emerged, how its current design was shaped and which topics are likely to dominate the future political agenda.

Today, the Commission adopted a Communication on the monitoring of the EU's visa-free travel regimes setting out a consultation process. To address challenges and prevent risks effectively, existing rules concerning the monitoring of the functioning of visa-free regimes with third countries and the suspension of visa exemptions should be re-assessed and improved.

This report is part of the Commission's initiative to further reinforce the Schengen governance through a yearly reporting exercise presenting the state of Schengen, identifying challenges and best practices, as well as priority areas for action. The State of Schengen Report 2023 will serve as basis for political discussions and steer at the Council on 8 June 2023.