Today Eurostat published the 2017 statistics on 'Asylum in the EU' on its website. It covers main trends and characteristics of first time applicants and first instance decisions on asylum applications for 2017 in the EU.

La Commission européenne propose de réformer la politique commune de visas de l'UE. Elle rend également compte - et demande - de nouveaux progrès dans le cadre de l'agenda européen pour les migrations. Enfin, elle mobilise des fonds supplémentaires pour les réfugiés syriens en Turquie.

Today, the Belgian Minister of Home Affairs, the Belgian State Secretary for Asylum Policy and Migration met with the British Home Secretary in London to discuss the issue of transit migration.

From 21 until 23 February 2018, the Belgian State Secretary for Asylum Policy and Migration, Theo Francken, visited Guinea in order to discuss the questions of – inter alia - irregular migration and return.

Today, Frontex published its Risk Analysis for 2018, which concentrates on the scope of Frontex operational activities and, in particular, on irregular migration at the external borders of the EU and Schengen Associated Countries.

On 22 December 2017, Deputy Prime Minister Jan Jambon, in the name of the government, asked the Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons (CGRS) to carry out an independent inquiry regarding the risk in case of return to Sudan. The report was handed over to the government on 8 February 2018. 

This portal allows any user – whether analyst, scientist, policymaker or interested citizen – to discover a wealth of migration information including data sources, relevant websites, stakeholder organisations, projects, networks and forums related to migration flows, trends and their impact on societies across the EU.

New figures published today by EASO show a significant decrease in the number of asylum applications made in the EU in 2017.

Ahead of formal talks with UN Member States to begin on 13 February 2018, the UNHCR releases a draft compact including the comprehensive refugee response framework and a programme of action to translate policy into practice.

Today, the Belgian Presidency of the Council of Ministers of the Benelux Union was officially launched.

En 2018, un total de 1.150 réfugiés sera sélectionné dans le cadre du programme de réinstallation (des Syriens, des Congolais et des réfugiés de la route migratoire de Méditerranée centrale), pour être transféré vers la Belgique.

As of 1 January 2018, certain third-country nationals have the obligation to follow an integration programme in the German-speaking Community.

Bulgaria has released its programme and priorities for its six-month Presidency of the Council of the EU.  Both IOM and UNHCR have published recommendations to the Bulgarian Presidency.

The system that will register entry, exit and refusal of entry information of third country nationals crossing the external borders of the Schengen area will come into operation, by 2020 at the latest.

In December of this year, the Office of the Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons was asked by the Belgian government to carry out an independent enquiry on the fate of the Sudanese nationals who recently returned to their country of origin.

A the beginning of December 2017, the European Commission has published the common "Return Handbook". It provides Member States with common guidelines, best practices and recommendations to be used by Member States' competent authorities when carrying out return-related tasks. 

At the beginning of December 2017, IOM’s Global Migration Data Analysis Centre (GMDAC), jointly with the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and with the guidance of GMDAC’s Advisory Board, developed the first global Migration Data Portal. The Portal aims to serve as a unique access point to timely and comprehensive migration statistics.

UNHCR is actively working to organize more life-saving refugee evacuations to Niger in the coming weeks and months, and calls for 1,300 resettlement places to be made available by the end of March 2018 for highly vulnerable refugees stranded in Libya.

Aujourd'hui, le Point de Contact belge du Réseau Européen des Migrations a réuni plus de 130 parties prenantes pour sa conférence nationale focalisée sur les principaux développements en matière de migration et d'asile en Belgique durant l'année 2017.

Today the Commission adopted a new communication requiring immediate action from the EU and Member States to disrupt the modus operandi of traffickers, strengthen victims' rights and intensify EU internal and external efforts to provide a coordinated and consistent response.

Myria publie aujourd'hui la 8ème édition de Myriatics. Cette édition se penche sur les immigrations d'étrangers vers la Belgique. Elle examine entre autres la position des citoyens de l'UE-28 dans le nombre total d'immigrations vers la Belgique, ainsi que l'importance croissante de la Syrie comme pays d'origine des immigrants vers la Belgique. 

Ce mercredi après-midi à Bruxelles, le Secrétaire d’Etat à l’Asile et à la Migration, Theo Francken ainsi que la présidente de la Communauté de Sant’Egidio en Belgique et les représentants des cultes reconnus en Belgique ont lancé ensemble un projet unique de couloir humanitaire visant à accueillir 150 demandeurs d'asile syriens dans des conditions optimales.

Today an amending regulation came into force, establishing a new common design and enhanced security features for residence permit cards in the EU.

La Conférence mondiale sur les villes et les migrations s'est tenue les 16 et 17 novembre 2017 à Malines, en Belgique. les acteurs locaux et régionaux ont appelés à être reconnus comme des acteurs clefs dans la gestion des migrations et la formulation des politiques en ce domaine.

La Belgique a accompli des progrès dans plusieurs domaines afin de lutter contre la traite des êtres humains et réalisé un nombre considérable de condamnations des auteurs d'infractions. Des progrès sont attendus afin d'identifier davantage d'enfants victimes de la traite et de prévenir les disparitions d'enfants non accompagnés.