This EMN Inform maps how EMN Member Countries organise their first instance appeals procedures and examine operational changes implemented between 2018 and 2024. It delivers a comprehensive comparative analysis, reflecting on procedural safeguards, key challenges, and good practices observed across the EU.
13/05/2025
12/05/2025
On 11-12 May 2025, Belgian Minister for Asylum and Migration Anneleen Van Bossuyt visited Chisinau to emphasise that asylum applications from Moldovan nationals—coming from a country considered safe—are processed through an accelerated procedure in Belgium. She also announced the immediate discontinuation of the return incentive, which is seen as encouraging misuse of the asylum system.
28/04/2025
This ad hoc query compares the existing legislation in EMN Member and Observer Countries regarding the granting of protection statuses to family members of beneficiaries of international protection, as well as recent changes in practices in light of the regime change in Syria.
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23/04/2025
On 23 April 2025, the Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGRS) announced an extension of the suspension of the processing of applications for international protection from Syrian nationals. The suspension, initially introduced on 9 December 2024, will remain in place until at least the end of July 2025.
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16/04/2025
The European Commission has issued a proposal to accelerate the implementation of certain aspects of the Pact on Migration and Asylum, with the aim of helping Member States process asylum claims more quickly, particularly for applicants whose claims are likely to be unfounded. In addition, the proposal includes the establishment of an EU-wide list of safe countries of origin. Human rights organisations have raised concerns, especially about the inclusion of Egypt, Tunisia, and Morocco, which they argue have ongoing human rights issues.
12/04/2025
Recent data requested by Green party MP Matti Vandemaele from the Minister for Asylum and Migration, Anneleen Van Bossuyt (N-VA), indicate a notable increase in the time taken to process applications for international protection. This trend has implications for applicants, who remain in prolonged uncertainty, and for the national reception system, which continues to face significant pressure.
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11/04/2025
This ad hoc query, launched by the Finnish National Contact Point of the EMN, explores whether and how EMN Member and Observer Countries measure the efficiency of their international protection procedures. It looks in particular at indicators such as the number of interviews conducted per full-time equivalent (FTE), the average length of these interviews, and the number of decisions issued per FTE. It also considers the tools used for these assessments and the actors responsible for carrying them out.
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10/04/2025
This ad hoc query, which informed the preparation of an EMN Inform, collected information on how Member and Observer Countries organise vocational education and training (VET) for applicants and beneficiaries of international protection. It covers programme structures, admission conditions, support measures, incentives, obligations, and the recognition of prior skills, as well as good practices and key challenges in delivering VET.
20/03/2025
The Belgian Minister of Asylum and Migration, Anneleen Van Bossuyt, has launched dissuasion campaigns on YouTube and via a WhatsApp channel that directly disseminates deterrence messages to potential asylum seekers. Several organisations have reacted to these campaigns, particularly criticising the messages conveyed by them.
12/03/2025
On 12 March 2025, the Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGRS) announced that it would temporarily suspend the notification of decisions granting subsidiary protection, refusing refugee status and refusing subsidiary protection status from applicants from the West Bank until they have access to sufficient objective information to accurately assess the general situation in the West Bank.
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06/03/2025
This ad hoc query investigates how healthcare services for applicants for international protection are organised in EMN Member and Observer Countries. It examines which authorities are responsible for providing such services, who covers the costs, and what types of services adult applicants are entitled to. It also explores how applicants access medical treatment, whether reception centres have healthcare personnel on staff, and how healthcare services are managed during a mass influx of migrants.
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03/03/2025
The European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) has released its annual analysis of asylum trends in 2024. The EU+ received approximately 1.014 million asylum applications, reflecting an 11% decrease compared to 2023. This decrease concentrated in the second half of the year as the application trend deviated from the typical seasonal pattern.
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27/02/2025
This ad hoc query examines the obligation imposed on Member States to make an audio recording of the personal interview of applicants for international protection, as outlined in the Pact on Migration and Asylum. It explores the means currently used by some EMN Member Countries to record, store, and transmit recordings of personal interviews, as well as how others intend to implement this obligation in the future.
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20/02/2025
A recent report published by the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA), which analyses case law from 2020-2024, highlights that EU-level and national court decisions are guiding national practices to shift to a more gender-sensitive approach in international protection.
16/01/2025
On 16 January 2025, the Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGRS) released asylum statistics for the whole year 2024. According to the figures, 39.615 persons, mainly from Palestine, Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea and Turkey, applied for international protection in Belgium. The Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration stressed that a large number of these applicants were already registered in another Member State.
