Project applications submitted under the Call for Proposals on Actions in the area of Integration should be submitted no later than today, 29 February 2016.

Today 27 February, numerous platforms and citizens came together for a European March in more than hundred cities in 28 countries, including Brussels where 3000 persons expressed support for the initiative.

Today, the Belgian government approved the plan for the distribution of asylum seekers over the different municipalities of the Kingdom. It will enter into force on 1 May 2016.

The Conference offers the opportunity to explore the most important policy developments from 2015 related to (financial, physical and operational) solidarity in EU Asylum and Borders Policies.

The Justice and Home Affairs Council of 25/02/2016 discussed the current migratory situation, including the monitoring of implementation of the measures already agreed at recent meetings of the European Council and Justice and Home Affairs Council.

This CEIPA roundtable offers an opportunity to examine solutions to the continuing influx of refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants which challenges European institutions to manage the crisis on the short and the longer run.

Today Interior Minister Jan Jambon announced the Belgian government's decision to patrol the border with France until 23 March 2016, alleging a surge in arrivals caused by the closure of the refugee camp known as the "Jungle" in Calais.

The Labour Market Observatory (LMO) of the European Economic and Social Committee is holding a public seminar on “Integrating refugees into the labour market: turning the crisis into an opportunity”.

Foyer organizes a series of training modules on Migration Law. The sessions will focus on various topics, such as the different residence statuses in Belgium, asylum and reception, family reunification, employment of foreign nationals, etc.

Today Europol launched the new European Migrant Smuggling Center (EMSC) to pro-actively support EU Member States in dismantling criminal networks involved in organized migrant smuggling.

Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, this conference explores free movement in light of EU (de)regulatory practices and their impact on EU legitimacy from the complementary angles of regulatory competition, regulatory contradictions and EU citizenship.

As of January 2016, the monthly statistics published by the CGRS refer to the number of persons and no longer to the number of asylum cases. In this way, the Belgian statistics conform to the definitions used by European agencies such as Eurostat and EASO.

On 15th February, a new vaccination campaign has been launched for newly arrived asylum seekers.

Belgium pledged 75 million EUR to be spent on humanitarian aid in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. The aid will mostly be dedicated to initiatives encouraging refugees to stay in their region of origin and providing dignified living conditions.

For the first time in Europe, Fedasil and IOM organized on Monday 1st February 2016 a chartered flight to Baghdad for the voluntary return of 106 persons to Iraq.

The 2015 Annual Report on trafficking and smuggling in human beings is now available in English. This report is produced by Myria, the Belgian Federal Migration Centre and the independent National Rapporteur on trafficking in human beings.

This EASO newsletter provides information on the election of new executive director José Carreira (PT) and chairman Wolfgang Taucher (AT) of the EASO managment board.