Today, the European Migration Network (EMN) launched its Annual Report on Migration and Asylum 2016 during a half day event in Brussels. 

Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, published today a press release with 2015 data on the acquisition of citizenship in the EU. The main conclusions are that EU Member States granted citizenship to fewer persons in 2015, and Moroccans, Albanians and Turks remain the main recipients.

Following up on the Joint Communication on the Central Mediterranean Route and the Malta Declaration, the EU Trust Fund for Africa upon proposal from the European Commission, adopted today a €90 million programme to step up the protection of migrants and reinforce migration management in Libya.

The Commission is today setting out actions to reinforce the protection of all migration children at all stages of the process and to ensure a closer link between the asylum and child protection services.

Today, the Commission adopted its eleventh progress report on the EU's emergency relocation and resettlement schemes, assessing actions taken since 2 March 2017.

This info day will inform participants on the EU financial support and ways to optimize its use in the integration work. Participants will also be able to exchange good practices in this matter.

The conference of the Slovakian Contact Point of the EMN, which will take place in Bratislava on 23 March 2017, will focus on the role of municipalities in the integration of refugees.

This roundtable discussion will examine how public bodies and NGOs can better communicate with refugees to support integration.

Today, a Royal Decree was published in the Official Gazette which details the type of residence permit the fee can apply to, and what the maximum amount of said fee is.

On 18 March 2017, a regulation amending the Schengen borders code was published in the EU Official Journal. The amendment aims to reinforce checks against relevant databases at the external borders.

Eurostat published a news release on the number of asylum applications in 2016 and published an article on asylum applications and decisions for 2016 on its website.

This joint seminar organized by the Estonian Contact Point of the EMN, UNHCR and IOM focuses on the current state, challenges and future directions of resettlement in Estonia and elsewhere.

In its judgement delivered today, the Court of Justice has ruled that Member States are not required – under EU law – to grant a humanitarian visa to persons who wish to enter their territory with a view to applying for asylum. However, they are free to do so on the basis of their national law.  

The European Migration Platform will meet for the third time to focus on access to Europe, examining safe legal aternatives to the perilous journeys migrants undertake, how to access services upon arrival and rights they are entitled to.

Today the European Commission presented new measures in the context of the review of the EU return policy which was announced in the Malta Declaration from 3 February 2017.

The Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons has published a new guide that provides information to unaccompanied minors applying for asylum in Belgium, as well as their guardians.