An overview on recent trends in the field of international protection was provided by Peter Van Costenoble and on humanitarian visa in Belgium by Ina Vandenberghe.  

Furthermore, recent developments in the field of reception in Belgium were presented by Ms. Fanny François (Director of Policy at Fedasil) and the opening of the new arrival center was highlighted.  

The morning session ended with a high level panel debate on the future protection policy within the EU. The distinguished panel members were Dirk Van den Bulck (Belgian Commissioner General for Refugees and Stateless Persons), Stephen Ryan (Deputy Head of Unit Asylum at the European Commission) and Sophie Magennis (Head of Policy and Legal Support at the UNHCR Regional Representation for EU Affairs in Brussels). The debate was moderated by Professor Dirk Vanheule who addressed the following topics to the members of the panel:

• CEAS: step by step moving forward or complete impasse?

• Safe third country concept and protection in the region cornerstones of a new EU protection model?

• How realistic is the establishment of controlled centers in the EU?

• Legal pathways as alternative for irregular migration? (focus sponsorship schemes)

• What will be the impact of the Global Compact on Refugees (and why is it not as heavily debated as the Global Compact on Migration)

In the afternoon, there was a session on legal migration and integration, where Ina Vandenberghe gave an introduction on recent trends and data in the field of legal migration.

David Vogel briefly presented the main findings of the EMN study on labour market integration of third country nationals and this topic was further deepened by Dries Lens (University of Antwerp) and Professor Bruno Schoumaker (Université Catholique de Louvain).

In the last session, David Vogel provided an overview on recent national trends in the field of return, while Magnus Ovilius (Head of Return Sector – European Commission) gave an outline of the recent developments in the EU return policy.

Finally, Patricia Le Cocq (Policy officer at Myria) gave a presentation on minors as victims of human trafficking or human smuggling.

Pictures of the conference can be found by clicking here.