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. 

This conference will focus on access to education and the role of education in the development and social inclusion of migrant children. It will be an opportunity for networking and experience sharing between partners who are working on questions related to the well-being of migrant children, as well as an opportunity to bring in different perspectives from other (selected) EU Member States, which have reported developments on access to education for migrant children in the last few years.

EMN Serbia, which newly joined the European Migration Network as an Observer Country in March 2023, organises its first national conference. The conference will focus on circular migration schemes and diasporas moving back to their countries of origin. 

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.

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.

Fencing work has started today along the Westkerke and Mannekensvere highway car parks on the E40 to prevent transmigrants from crossing the highway to climb into lorries aiming to reach the UK.

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 EMN Steering Board has voted on the topics which will be analysed in studies and informs in 2024. In line with the targets outlined in the 2023-2025 work programme of the EMN, 3 new studies and 10 new informs will be published next year.

In a new state of play published today, the European Commission reviews the state of affairs regarding progress on the New Pact on Migration and Asylum. Key developments since the last state of play from April 2023 are highlighted.

The federal government has reached an agreement today on the 2024 budget. While 1.2 billion euros will improve the budget balance, 500 million euros will cover additional needs, including in the asylum and migration field.

Eurostat published today data referring to the attribution of temporary protection status based on the Council Implementing Decision 2022/382 of 4 March 2022. On 31 August 2023, almost 4.2 million non-EU citizens, who fled Ukraine as a consequence of the Russian invasion on 24 February 2022, had temporary protection status in EU countries. 

The German Contact Point to the European Migration Network (EMN), in cooperation with the BAMF, organises a conference on "Resettlement, Humanitarian Admission, and Complementary Pathways to Refugee Protection". Current national and European developments and challenges in the field will be discussed with a variety of national and international guests.

The European Migration Network (EMN) Glossary is an essential resource, which offers an EU-wide multidisciplinary vocabulary of approximately 500 terms and concepts related to asylum and migration. Let's focus today on the term "access to employment" to make sure we have a common understanding and use of the term!