February 2024
Of the 14.779 Ukrainian refugees registered with the VDAB, 45 percent (6.599) have already worked and 27 percent (4.045) are still working. Some argue that more should be done to guide them into work, inter alia encouraging language learning in the workplace.
Main Theme: Integration
Keywords: Ukraine, employment rate, labour market access, language barrier
October 2023
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 "access to employment" to make sure we have a common understanding and use of the term!
Main Theme: Integration
Keywords: access to work, access to employment, labour market access, labour market integration
September 2023
For 10 years now, the Duo for a Job association has aimed inter alia to help eliminate inequalities in access to the labour market for young people with a migrant background. Results are conclusive as seven out of ten young people successfully find a stable job, an internship or training that leads them to the job they initially wanted.
Main Theme: Integration
Keywords: labour market access, mentoring
September 2023
Today, the European Migration Network (EMN) Belgium was invited to present the results of an upcoming publication to members of the Flemish Agency for Internal Affairs as well as to take part in a coordination meeting between the four integration contact points in Belgium (for Flanders, Wallonia, Brussels, and the German-speaking community).
Main Theme: Integration
Keywords: integration contact point, integration monitoring
August 2023
As part of his “Turbo Plan”, Flemish Minister for the Interior and Civic Integration, Bart Somers (Open VLD) wants newly-arrived third-country nationals without a high school diploma to undergo training in order to be able to practice a bottleneck profession. This training would be part of the civic integration programme.
Main Theme: Integration
Keywords: civic integration programme, shortage occupation, on-the-job training
June 2023
At today’s Tent Partnership for Refugees' European Business Summit in Paris, 41 leading companies have collectively announced ambitious commitments to provide over 250,000 Ukrainian refugee women and other refugees with jobs and training across Europe. The commitments being made will strengthen companies’ workforces, fill labor gaps, and boost European economies.
Main Theme: Integration
Keywords: labour market integration
May 2023
Today a social profit fair took place in Antwerp as part of the project “Every talent counts (in social profit)”. At these regional social profit fairs, persons with a migratory background are put into contact with diversity-oriented employers, training institutions, and supporting organizations such as VDAB and the Agency for Integration and Civic Integration.
Main Theme: Integration
Keywords: diversity, talent
March 2023
The meeting put institutional stakeholders and the private sector around the table, to exchange experiences and knowledge regarding the future EU Talent Pool and other databases.
Main Theme: Integration
Keywords: talent, Ukraine, labour market integration
February 2023
Flemish Minister for Home affairs, Administrative affairs, Civic integration and Equal opportunities, Bart Somers, wants newcomers to succeed in 9 out of 11 questions about the Belgian fundamental values.
Main Theme: Integration
Keywords: Integration path, integration exam
February 2023
Many cities throughout the European Union hosted people fleeing Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. To gauge how cities addressed Europe largest humanitarian crisis since World War II, the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) approached selected cities in the EU.
Main Theme: Integration
Keywords: Ukraine, cities, local actor
October 2019
The conference 'From Tampere 20 to Tampere 2.0: Towards a new programme (2020-2024) for EU migration and asylum policies 20 years after the Tampere conclusions?' was held in Helsinki on the 24th and the 25th of October.
Main Theme: Cross-sectional, Integration, External Dimension, International Protection, Economic migration, Irregular Migration
Keywords: Dublin Regulation, CEAS, EMN Annual Conference
October 2019
On 22 October 2019, the Association of Flemish Cities and Municipalities (VVSG) published the results of the survey conducted in the spring of 2019. The results show that especially the search for housing for beneficiaries of international protection is very problematic. The regulations state that, in principle, they must leave the Local Reception Initiative (LOI) within two months. As in the VVSG survey of 2017, half of the respondents do not consider this period to be feasible. For almost 1 in 5, finding housing within this timeframe very exceptionally the case, and only thanks to the possibility to extend the stay in the LOI twice by 1 month.
Main Theme: Integration
Keywords: huisvesting, LOI's, discriminatie
December 2018
On 12 December 2018, the Belgian contact point of the EMN organized its annual asylum and migration policy event in which recent national and EU developments in the field of international protection, legal migration and integration and irregular migration, human trafficking and return were discussed.
Main Theme: Integration, Reception, International Protection, Return & Readmission, Smuggling & Trafficking
Keywords: annual EMN policy event
May 2018
In 2018, the European Migration Network (EMN) celebrates its 10 year anniversary. On this occasion, the EMN organized a conference on 15 May in Brussels.
January 2018
As of 1 January 2018, certain third-country nationals have the obligation to follow an integration programme in the German-speaking Community.
Main Theme: Integration
Keywords: integration programme, Integration path, German-speaking Community
December 2017
Today, the Belgian Contact Point of the European Migration Network organized its national conference, which focused on the main developments in the field of migration and asylum that took place in Belgium in 2017.
Main Theme: Asylum, Reception, International Protection, Migration
Keywords: EMN conference
November 2017
Today an amending regulation came into force, establishing a new common design and enhanced security features for residence permit cards in the EU.
Main Theme: Integration, Migration
August 2017
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.
Main Theme: Integration, Reception
Keywords: employment
May 2017
An ordinance of the Joint Community Commission of Brussels - which was published in the Belgian Gazette today - establishes a mandatory integration programme for newcomers in Brussels.
Main Theme: Integration
Keywords: Brussels, integration programme
January 2017
Today a new law enters (partly) into force inserting a general residence condition into the Immigration Act. The Immigration Office can now put an end to a residence permit if the person cannot put forward provable integration efforts.
Main Theme: Migration, Integration
Keywords: Integration, newcomers declaration
November 2016
The Belgian Contact Point of the EMN organised a conference on labour market participation of beneficiaries of international protection. The event took place on the 8th of November in Brussels (Résidence Palace).
Main Theme: Integration, International Protection
Keywords: EMN conference, labour market integration
June 2016
On 29 June in Paris, the French NCP of the EMN organised a conference with the objective to discuss labour market integration of beneficiaires of international protection and specific support measures targetting this group, as well as to provide a comparative European perspective.
Main Theme: International Protection, Integration
Keywords: labour market access, labour market integration
June 2016
The activity rate for non-EU citizens is lower than for nationals with a higher unemployment rate and a lower employment rate.
Main Theme: Migration, Integration, Data & Statistics
Keywords: activity rate, employment rate
June 2016
The Action Plan aims at supporting Member States in the integration of third-country nationals and their economic and social contribution to the EU. It will be accompanied by a legal proposal to reform the rules on highly skilled migrants coming to the EU to work.
Main Theme: Integration, Economic migration
Keywords: Immigrant integration, EU blue card
November 2015
As from 9 November 2015, an asylum seeker can obtain a C work permit four months after applying for asylum. The 6 month period was cut to 4 months by a Royal Decree which entered into force today.