Given the strong pressure on the Belgian reception system, Fedasil created more than 3.000 places in 2023. Despite these efforts, Fedasil ran out of places to accommodate all applicants for international protection last year.

On the proposal of the Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration, the Council of Ministers agreed today to the conclusion of a rental contract for land in Lodelinsart (Charleroi). Fedasil will make the site available to the Belgian Red Cross to place containers in order to increase the reception capacity for applicants for international protection.

A new reception centre that can accommodate a maximum of 135 applicants for international protection has opened in Ghent. This is the second reception centre managed by Fedasil in the city. Since 2020, the Agency has been organizing the reception of 250 people on a pontoon in the port of Ghent.

Eurochild and the Federation of Non-Governmental Organisations for Children (FONPC) are organising an international conference to share good practices and lessons on how civil society can facilitate the integration of refugee and asylum-seeking children.

According to an announcement from the office of the Brussels Social Minister Alain Maron, 155 additional emergency places are opened today to accommodate homeless or poorly housed people in Brussels. The emergency shelter welcomes everyone, regardless of residence status.

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.

This virtual event is part of the OECD COP28 Virtual Pavilion, which runs from 23 November to 12 December 2023. The pavilion presents key OECD contributions with insights to drive ambitious and globally effective action on climate change.

The 4th edition of the annual Migration & Health Seminar, jointly organised by the Institute of Tropical Medicine and the University of Antwerp (MIGLOBA; previously CEMIS), will focus on mental health and migration.

This conference will focus on access to education and the role of education in the development and social inclusion of migrant children. It will be an opportunity for networking and experience sharing between partners who are working on questions related to the well-being of migrant children, as well as an opportunity to bring in different perspectives from other (selected) EU Member States, which have reported developments on access to education for migrant children in the last few years.

This conference organised by the Finnish Contact Point of the EMN aims to promote dialogue between different actors and to find new perspectives on how to develop the assessment of the best interests of the child in migration processes.

Samusocial, CIRÉ, Médecins du Monde, Ilot and the Brussels Platform Armoede have launched the campaign "Without papers, without rights, without shelter" to demonstrate the reality of undocumented persons and to propose concrete recommendations to policymakers in this field.

The World Health Organization has published its first-ever global research agenda on health, migration and displacement to guide research efforts to understand and address the health needs of migrants, refugees, and all forcibly displaced populations and shape responsive policies and practices worldwide. 

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.

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.

The organisation reports a huge increase in the number of vulnerable young asylum seekers who disappear in Belgium. The number of disappearances could double this year, compared to 2022 which had 136 cases.

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.