On Sunday, 15 March the project on Smart Borders Pilot reached the next milestone - the execution phase – in Lisbon Airport, Portugal.

On 20 January, the Belgian Association for foreigners’ rights organizes a training on the topic “What protection for seriously ill persons following M’Bodj and Abdida case-law?”.

The first meeting of the European Migration Forum will take place on 26-27 January 2015 in Brussels. Through a participatory approach and the involvement of civil society organizations, the European Migration Forum will provide a platform for exchanges on migration, asylum and integration issues.

Under the Italian Presidency of the European Union a two days conference on European Migration Policy and Integration is organized in Rome on 17-18 December 2014.

The last update of reference amounts for the crossing of the external borders has been published in the EU Official Journal on 13 December 2014. Belgium’s requirements are outlined.

This meeting will discuss the dynamics by which migrants get stuck in low-skilled work, and the role of training and employment services in helping them progress in their occupations.

Since 13 November 2014 and until May 2015, Belgium is chairing the Committee of Ministers, the political decision making organ of the Council of Europe. Under the Belgian Presidency, migration and asylum will be part of the issues tackled.

On 11 November 2014, the European Commission has released its 6th bi-annual report on the functioning of the Schengen area covering the period from 1 May to 31 October 2014.

The IOM Country Office for Belgium and Luxembourg organize an event to illustrate the positive contribution of migrants, in various domains and to highlight some concrete examples of their contributions to the host societies at the international, European, and Belgian levels.

On 4 September 2014, the Court of Justice of the European Union issued a case-law concerning the interpretation of the Regulations establishing the Schengen Borders Code (2006) and the Visa Code (2009)

2013 statistics on enforcement of immigration legislation have been released by Eurostat in September 2014.

This International Symposium aims to discuss the current challenges of migration and integration in Europe, and to reignite the debate about an EU-wide strategy to improve integration policies across Member States.

The Centre for the History of Migrants (CGM) organizes an international workshop to analyze how policies and practices travel, especially between the Netherlands and Belgium as neighbouring countries with more or less similar immigration histories.

TRICUD Final International Conference aims at presenting the main findings of the multidisciplinary research programme TRICUD (2010-2014) on post-migratory cities and transnational flows, the dynamics of identities and the process of cultural diversification.

The summit took stock of progress made on Roma inclusion in the EU. It focused on three major themes: making policies inclusive for all Roma at the local level; making EU funding reach the local and regional authorities; making Roma integration a local reality.

The Commission presented two proposals today to greatly facilitate the procedures for short-stay visitors. Important changes in the visa rules aim to stimulate the European economy and facilitate the lives of travellers towards the EU.

Helga de Valk, Professor aan de Vrije Universiteit Brussel, is willing to show that applying the sociological life course approach to migration and integration research may advance our understanding of immigrant settlement patterns and further develop the life course perspective.