Following the release of its EASO Guidance on reception conditions: operational standards and indicators in December 2016, EASO has just issued the EASO guidance on contingency planning in the context of reception.

Le Point de Contact belge du REM a produit une courte vidéo sur la thématique de l’emploi illégal de ressortissants de pays tiers, et les études du REM consacrées à ce sujet

Two United Nations agencies are joining forces to combat migrant smuggling. They organized an event centering on a Joint Platform on Countering Migrant Smuggling.

Following the adoption of the Cooperation Agreement on the Single Permit Procedure on 2 February 2018, different legislative texts have been adopted at the federal and regional levels in March 2018 to approve this Cooperation Agreement.

Le gouvernement a approuvé le 24 mars 2018 un nouveau plan de réduction de capacité pour les demandeurs de protection internationale. Le réseau d’accueil actuel compte 23.815 places. Ce nombre devrait être réduit à 16.629 places en 2019, dont 10.044 places collectives et 6.585 places individuelles. Avec ce nouveau plan, le réseau retrouvera ainsi sa capacité d’avant la crise.

En février, Fedasil, l'Agence fédérale pour l'accueil des demandeurs d'asile, a signé un accord-cadre avec Enabel (www.enabel.be), l’Agence belge du développement (anciennement Coopération technique belge).

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.