This conference organised by the Finnish Contact Point of the EMN aims to promote dialogue between different actors and to find new perspectives on how to develop the assessment of the best interests of the child in migration processes.

The Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration discussed today with mayors and aldermen of the five major cities of Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent, Charleroi and Liège to find ways to reduce the administrative burden in the field of asylum and migration, to guide illegally staying third-country nationals towards return and to implement social initiatives promoting, among others, the employment of applicants for international protection.

Nicole de Moor presented today a draft law which aims, in accordance with the federal government agreement, to enshrine in law a proactive return policy. The draft law inter alia provides for the obligation to cooperate in the return procedure and for the intensive individual follow up of third-country nationals who have received an order to leave the territory.

This conference organised by the French Contact Point of the EMN will focus on resettlement programmes, legal complementary pathways and the integration of resettled refugees.

This annual meeting is aimed at teachers who wish to discover new tools and start the school year with new ideas to talk about migration in the classroom.

This capacity-building workshop will bring together representatives of international organisations, EU agencies, Member States, and academia to provide opportunities for exchanges and discussions on the current state of forecasting models in migration, and to present any ongoing projects or initiatives related to the use of technologies in migration and asylum governance.

Samusocial, CIRÉ, Médecins du Monde, Ilot and the Brussels Platform Armoede have launched the campaign "Without papers, without rights, without shelter" to demonstrate the reality of undocumented persons and to propose concrete recommendations to policymakers in this field.

The Flemish Bar Association obtained in court that the Immigration Office provide lawyers with a detailed organisation chart allowing them to enter directly into contact with the employees handling the cases they are defending.

The campaign aims to raise awareness among people in Guinea of the dangers of irregular migration, such as the risk of exploitation and dangerous crossings. People are also made aware of local employment opportunities and legal migration channels.

The World Health Organization has published its first-ever global research agenda on health, migration and displacement to guide research efforts to understand and address the health needs of migrants, refugees, and all forcibly displaced populations and shape responsive policies and practices worldwide. 

The European Migration Network organizes a webinar to present its recently published study on "Integration of applicants for international protection in the labour market". Limitations, challenges and good practices will be highlighted and discussed.

During this conference, experts will discuss the implementation and efficiency of national and EU law on identifying and consequently combatting incidents of xenophobia and hate speech in Cyprus and in other European countries. 

The 2023 Innovation Awards were awarded at the IOM Global Chiefs of Missions Meeting (GCOMM) in Istanbul on 25 October 2023. In the category "Regular Pathways", Displaced Talent for Europe (DT4E), which facilitates skilled migration for displaced talent to respond to labour market shortages, was acknowledged as the changemaker.

The International Migration Outlook 2023, published today by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), highlights inter alia that permanent-type migration to OECD countries increased by 26% in 2022 compared with 2021. In Belgium and in many OECD countries, permanent-type migration was higher in 2022 than in any of the previous 15 years. 

The Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGVS) announced on 20 October 2023 that the notification of decisions granting or refusing subsidiary protection status to applicants from Gaza and the West Bank is suspended until the CGRS has sufficient objective information to assess the security situation in the Palestinian territories accurately.

Home Affairs Ministers met at the JHA Council in Brussels on 19 October. They discussed progress on the New Pact on Migration and Asylum and exchanged views on the EU’s approach to the external dimension of migration. They stressed that the EU should efficiently use all the tools at its disposal to develop a preventive model which would hinder irregular departures, as well as to foster the effectiveness of returns.

This conference will provide legal practitioners with an update on the reform of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) and the efforts undertaken to implement the New EU Pact on Migration. This year it will also tackle challenges related to the use of artificial intelligence and its implications for people on the move.

For the EU Anti-Trafficking Day, the European Commission is launching an awareness-raising campaign to inform citizens on the reality of this crime. The European Commission invites every citizen to help raise awareness by becoming part of the ‘End human trafficking. Break the invisible chain’ campaign. 

After the terrorist attack perpetrated by an illegally staying failed asylum seeker in the centre of Brussels on 16 October, various policymakers plead for better follow-up of failed asylum seekers and stricter enforcement of orders to leave the territory.

The European Council invited the Commission to present an Action Plan on the Eastern Mediterranean route, as part of a broader approach to help alleviate the pressure on Member States faced with large numbers of irregular arrivals along the route. This Action Plan identifies operational measures that will contribute to addressing the ongoing challenges along this route.