EMN Belgium participated in the joint conference organised by EMN Georgia and EMN Latvia, titled: “A Commonly Understood Language as a tool in Migration Management: the EMN Asylum and Migration Glossary”. The conference highlighted the importance of the glossary and allowed to share experiences and challenges that arise when defining, translating and using asylum and migration-related terms.

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.

The Global Refugee Forum 2023 will be the opportunity to build on the progress made by States and stakeholders towards the implementation of the Global Compact on Refugees and of pledges and initiatives announced since the first Forum in 2019.

Through a toolbox, the Commission wants to support Member States with strategic measures to address cases where transport means are misused to facilitate irregular migration to the EU, with a particular focus on airways.

The Western Balkans are at the heart of the European continent, surrounded by EU Member States. The migration situation in the region remains complex and challenges the institutional capacities of the Western Balkans, particularly in relation to border management, migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings.

This seminar will examine new findings on how Schengen emerged, how its current design was shaped and which topics are likely to dominate the future political agenda.

During two lunch & learn sessions this week, the team of EMN Belgium met around 70 practitioners of the Immigration Office to inform them about the European Migration Network, to invite them to actively participate in the national network, and to explore concrete cooperation opportunities.

The special parliamentary Commission tasked to assess the Belgian legislation and policy on trafficking in and smuggling of human beings adopted today 100 recommendations dealing with various forms of exploitation such as economic exploitation, sexual exploitation, the exploitation of begging, forced criminality, illegal adoption, and forced marriage.

Today, the Commission adopted a Communication on the monitoring of the EU's visa-free travel regimes setting out a consultation process. To address challenges and prevent risks effectively, existing rules concerning the monitoring of the functioning of visa-free regimes with third countries and the suspension of visa exemptions should be re-assessed and improved.

Today, the Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration Nicole de Moor, the Minister of the Interior Annelies Verlinden, Fedasil, Child Focus, the Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons, and the Guardianship Service presented together a guide aimed at preventing and resolving the disappearance of unaccompanied foreign minors.

This morning, EMN Belgium participated in a roundtable, moderated by Special Envoy on Migration and Asylum Lieven De la Marche, with the contribution of representatives of the cabinet of the Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration, the Belgian Development Agency (Enabel) and the coalition for international solidarity (11.11.11). Belgian actors could share their views on the report which was presented to them.

Myria has published the second thematic section of its 2023 annual report. This section entitled "Humanitarian and medical regularisation" reports that 2.038 persons were regularized on humanitarian grounds in Belgium in 2022 (10% less than in 2021) and 248 persons were authorised to reside in Belgium on medical grounds in 2022 (against 1,330 people whose application was refused).

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed to strengthen cooperation between the EU and UK on migration through developing a new working arrangement between UK agencies and Frontex, enabling them to "work together on critical operational and strategic challenges including the situation in the Channel". 

This report is part of the Commission's initiative to further reinforce the Schengen governance through a yearly reporting exercise presenting the state of Schengen, identifying challenges and best practices, as well as priority areas for action. The State of Schengen Report 2023 will serve as basis for political discussions and steer at the Council on 8 June 2023.

The Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration Nicole de Moor signed today an agreement with the Senegalese Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Annette Seck. Belgium and Senegal agreed to cooperate on the return of irregularly staying Senegalese nationals and on legal migration.

Today marks a decade and a half of the European Migration Network (EMN) providing objective and reliable migration and asylum information. Throughout the years, the EMN has been meeting the information needs of Community institutions and of Member States’ authorities and institutions on migration and asylum, and supporting policymaking in these areas.

On 11 and 12 May 2023, EMN Belgium participated in the Swedish Presidency Conference. Many actors were invited to contribute: professors, researchers, policy-makers, analysts, development actors, national government officials – both from EU countries and beyond – and EU officials, representatives of international organisations and NGOs.

This hybrid annual conference will debate the latest developments and challenges in the EU’s internal and external border management. It will analyse the latest proposals and reforms on the functioning and operation of EU border management systems, including Schengen, as well as Frontex’ role and responsibilities. A particular focus will be given to the ongoing situation at the EU’s eastern border.

This conference will examine the issues at the core of the current debates about Schengen like the balance between solidarity & responsibility between States in liaison with secondary movements of asylum seekers, the persistence of controls at Schengen internal borders, the way to monitor human rights at the external borders, the increasing recourse to large-scale databases,...

The EMN Slovakia Educational Seminar on Migration is a learning platform about migration that fosters networking, experience sharing, and discussions among (inter)national experts and participants. The seminar has been organised by IOM as the coordinator of the EMN activities in Slovakia with funding from the European Union since 2012, each year on a specific migration-related topic.

Today, the Internal Market Committee and the Civil Liberties Committee adopted a draft negotiating mandate on the first-ever rules for Artificial Intelligence (AI). MEPs substantially amended the list to include bans on intrusive and discriminatory uses of AI systems. They also expanded the classification of high-risk areas.

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 "environmentally displaced person" to make sure we have a common understanding and use of the term!