The results of the third sociomonitoring report, published in December 2017, will be presented by the Federal Public Service Employment and Unia, in order to better understand the situation of persons on the labour market according to their origin.

The panel discussion will present the findings of the recently completed research project of the European Foundation for Democracy which examined how different European countries with high numbers of refugees and/or experience of integrating high numbers of refugees are managing the integration process and identifies good practices for integrating refugees. The research looked in particular at the situation of Syrian refugees in Europe, though not exclusively.

At the height of the refugee “crisis” in October 2015, over 7,000 asylum seekers crossed the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Greece per day. This created problematic conditions for refugees in reception centers and overwhelmed Greece as a first country of entry to the EU. In this setting, the EU-Turkey Statement was concluded with the aim of managing migration across the Aegean Sea and curbing arrivals to the EU. Whilst the Statement was effective in reducing the number of arrivals, it has been met with a series of human rights concerns.

The European Commission proposes to reform the EU's common visa policy. It also reports on - and calls for - further progress under the European Agenda on Migration. Finally it mobilises additional funding for Syrian refugees in Turkey.

As of 1 January 2018, certain third-country nationals have the obligation to follow an integration programme in the German-speaking Community.

Today an amending regulation came into force, establishing a new common design and enhanced security features for residence permit cards in the EU.

The Migration Policy Institute Europe (MPI Europe), the United States Mission to the European Union, the Mission of Canada to the European Union, and the European Economic and Social Committee will organise a conference on 'Social innovation for refugee inclusion: Maintaining momentum and creating lasting change'. 

The Belgian government and the city of Mechelen host a global conference on cities and migration in order to identify actionable recommendations on cooperation for migration governance at local and national levels.

The Commission and the European Economic and Social Committee are organising a conference on "From Crisis Management Towards Everyday Practice: Lessons from the refugees' integration for future labour market and social policies", on 6 November in Brussels.

The European Commission published a mid-term review of what has been achieved so far in delivering the European Agenda on Migration. It also sets out new initiatives from the Commission to address key areas, and identifies where further efforts are needed in the coming months.

The State Secretary for Asylum Policy and Migration Theo Francken and the Walloon Minister for Employment have signed on 29 August a collaboration agreement intended to foster the socio-professional insertion of asylum seekers.

Following up on the Commission's Action Plan to support Italy from 4 July, the EU Trust Fund for Africa adopted today a programme worth €46 million to reinforce the integrated migration and border management capacities of the Libyan authorities.

The Odysseus Network, with the support of the Belgian Contact Point of the EMN, organizes an evening debate focusing on "Immigrant Integration Policies of Belgian Regions: A Mirror of the Diversity in the EU?"

An ordinance of the Joint Community Commission of Brussels - which was published in the Belgian Gazette today - establishes a mandatory integration programme for newcomers in Brussels.