On Wednesday afternoon in Brussels, Theo Francken, State Secretary for Asylum Policy and Migration, as well as the President of the Community of Sant'Egidio in Belgium and the representatives of the recognized cults in Belgium launched together a humanitarian corridor to accommodate 150 Syrian asylum seekers in optimal conditions.

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

The Global Conference on Cities and Migration was held on 16-17 November 2017 in Mechelen, Belgium. Local and regional actors requested to be recognized as key actors in migration management and policy making.

Belgium has made progress in a number of areas to combat human trafficking and has managed a considerable number of convictions of perpetrators. Improvements are expected inter alia to enhance the identification of child victims and prevent the disappearances of unaccompanied children. 

As of 2 November 2017, family members of foreign nationals who obtained a long term resident status in another Member State and reside in Belgium will not have to obtain a work permit if the long term residents themselves do not require such a permit.

Join the Asylum and Migration Policy Event of the Belgian Contact Point of the EMN in order to discuss the main developments of the year 2017 in the fields of migration and asylum in Belgium. 

This full day conference will provide an opportunity to exchange information on family reunification schemes, in Ireland and abroad. Drawing on the findings of a recently published European Migration Network study the family reunification policy frameworks operational elsewhere in the EU will be discussed and compared.

The Commission and the European Economic and Social Committee are organising a conference on "From Crisis Management Towards Everyday Practice: Lessons from the refugees' integration for future labour market and social policies", on 6 November in Brussels.

On the 26th of October 2017 the general policy note on asylum and migration of the State Secretary for Asylum and Migration was published. The policy note provides an overview of the main achievements and priorities in the field of asylum and migration.

A joint European Migration Network & OECD event will take place on 9th November 2017. Two thematic sessions are presented within this full-day event: "Challenges and good practices in family migration policies" and "Illegal employment of third-country nationals in the EU: Challenges and solutions".

This conference aims to explore the complexity and significance of the migratory phenomenon in the world to come. Key speakers will contribute to the conference.

Today, the Belgian National Contact Point of the European Migration Network organized an event in Brussels to discuss the irregular employment of third country nationals.

In the summer of 2017, more and more transit migrants, who wish to go to the UK, were staying in the Maximilian park in Brussels. The Belgian government did not want this park to become ‘a new Calais’. A number of transit migrants were intercepted and detained. Because a lot of them were presumed Sudanese, a Sudanese delegation was invited to come to Belgium for identification. Left-wing politicians and NGOs stressed that the Sudanese regime’s human rights record is particularly worrying. Campaigns were organised to better inform the transit migrants. On 04.10.2017 these issues were debated in the Belgian Parliament.

In preparation for the IMISCOE workshop on 1 December 2017, abstracts focusing on migration aspirations should be sent at the latest today!

The European Commission published a mid-term review of what has been achieved so far in delivering the European Agenda on Migration. It also sets out new initiatives from the Commission to address key areas, and identifies where further efforts are needed in the coming months.

In order to preserve and strengthen the Schengen area, the Commission is proposing to update the Schengen Borders Code to adapt the rules for the reintroduction of temporary internal border controls to the current needs to respond to evolving and persistent serious threats to public policy or internal security.

In the framework of the Estonian Presidency of the Council, the Estonian Contact Point of the EMN organized the annual EMN conference on 21 and 22 september in Tallinn. The event gathered key stakeholders who discussed good practices and challenges in attracting and retaining talents in the EU and in the Member States.

Today, President Jean-Claude Juncker presented next steps towards a stronger, more effective and fairer EU migration and asylum policy.

The Belgian National Contact Point of the EMN organizes a lunch session on the topic of "the illegal employment of third-country nationals in Belgium and in the EU", on 5 October in Brussels.

The judgment in joined cases C-643/15 and C-647/15 Slovakia and Hungary v Council has been delivered by the Court, calling Member States to respect the emergency relocation scheme for refugees, initiated by the EU at the height of the migration crisis

The State Secretary for Asylum Policy and Migration Theo Francken and the Walloon Minister for Employment have signed on 29 August a collaboration agreement intended to foster the socio-professional insertion of asylum seekers.

From 5 September until 4 October 2017, 11.11.11 organises a series of training sessions on "discussing migration", in several cities in Belgium.

The Finnish National Contact Point (NCP) of the European Migration Network organises its national conference "A longitudinal look at migration - global, Europea and national views" in Helsinki on 26 September 2017.

The Luxembourg National Contact Point of the European Migration Network organizes its national conference on 'Moving forward, keeping research relevant- strengthening the research-policy dialogue in the fields of migration and integration' on 24 October in Esch-Beval. 

The Austrian National Contact Point of the EMN organizes its national conference on "Migration Movement towards Europe: Data Analysis and Alternatives", on 9 October in Vienna.