On 12 December 2018, the Belgian contact point of the EMN 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, human trafficking and return were discussed. 

Following the release of its EASO Guidance on reception conditions: operational standards and indicators in December 2016, EASO has just issued the EASO guidance on contingency planning in the context of reception.

The government approved on 24 March 2018 a new reduction plan for reception places for applicants for international protection. Today the reception network consists of 23,815 reception places. This should be reduced to 16,629 reception places in 2019, of which 10,044 collective places and 6,585 individual reception places. With this plan, the network returns to the level preceding the reception crisis.

At the occasion of the IE EMN NCP conference in Dublin, a wide audience, including national policy makers and experts as well as representatives from the Commission and other NCPs, discussed protection challenges.

On 29th November in Paris, the French NCP organised a conference on the CEAS. The next day there was a EMN-Cluster Meeting on reception conditions for asylum seekers in the EU: "existing mechanisms and good practices”

The Justice and Home Affairs Council (JHA) achieved a Political Agreement on the Reception Conditions Directive, discussed recent developments in Syria and council conclusions were endorsed concerning the new EU strategy to combat human trafficking.

The Belgian Council of Ministers decided to provide a subsidy to finance prefabricated schools in Syrian refugee camps in Turkey. The assistance is provided in the framework of the policy on conflict prevention of Foreign Affairs.

The European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties (LIBE) gave the green light to an agreement to recast the Reception Conditions Directive.

The law of January 19, 2012 introduced the concept of a “return track” for asylum seekers, a framework for individual counseling on return, offered by the Federal Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (Fedasil). New instructions implement this return track in the reception centres.

On 2 May, Representatives of the Parliament of the French community unanimously approved the reform of the reception and education of foreign newcomer children, improving and making "bridging classes" more flexible.

The annual report of the Federal Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (Fedasil) has been launced. Fedasil updates you on the voluntary return program that it runs as well as the reception situation and network in 2011.

On February 17,2012 the law of January 19, 2012: “Law for modification of the legislation regarding the reception of asylum seekers” was published.

The new Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration and for Social Integration, Maggie De Block (Open VLD) presented today her policy paper on reception in the Parliament.