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. 

Today, 10 families with a humanitarian visa arrived in Zaventem. They will apply for international protection once in Belgium. They will be hosted in Christian communities, in cooperation with Caritas, during the first year.

On the 31st of May and 1st of June, the Bulgarian Contact Point of the EMN - in the framework of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council - organized the EMN Annual Conference. The conference was dedicated to  challenges and success factors in managing migration flows. 

Eurostat published a statistical analysis on the number of unaccompanied minors who applied for international protection in 2017. the 31,400 applications represent an important decrease compared to previous years. 

Today Eurostat published the 2017 statistics on 'Asylum in the EU' on its website. It covers main trends and characteristics of first time applicants and first instance decisions on asylum applications for 2017 in the EU.

Today, March 12, 2018 the Law of 21 November 2017 (adopted in the Parliament on Nov. 9) modifying the Immigration Act was published in the Belgian Official Gazette and will come into force on March 22, 2018. 

New figures published today by EASO show a significant decrease in the number of asylum applications made in the EU in 2017.

In 2018, a total of 1.150 refugees will be selected in the frame of the resettlement programme (Syrians, Congolese and refugees of the Central Mediterranean route) in order to be transferred to Belgium.

The tragedy in Lampedusa prompted an unprecedented call for action by EU leaders and citizens. On 4 December, the Commission proposed ways to increase solidarity and mutual support in order to prevent migrants' death in the Mediterranean.

The Court refined its case-law on the application of the Dublin Regulation, judging on the responsability of a Member State to examine an asylum application, in case of impossible transfer of the applicant.

The UN Committee against Torture (CAT) expressed both positive and negative observations on Belgium, following the examination of the third periodic report on Belgium.

On 14 November, the European Court of Human Rights condemned Belgium in the case of M.D. v Belgium for infringing the right to an effective remedy on short delay, as captured in Article 5 §4 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

On 7 November, the European Court of Justice judged that homosexual applicants for asylum can constitute a particular social group who may be persecuted on account of their sexual orientation.

Every month, the Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless persons (CGRS) publishes a document providing the statistics on asylum applications and first instance decisions.

EASO launched the October edition of the EASO newsletter. The newsletter provides an overview of recent EASO activities and outputs.

Every month, the Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless persons (CGRS) publishes a document providing the statistics on asylum applications and first instance decisions.

EASO launched the September edition of the EASO newsletter. The newsletter provides an overview of recent EASO activities and outputs.

Every month, the Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless persons (CGRS) publishes a document providing the statistics on asylum applications and first instance decisions.