03 April 2018
To raise awareness about illegal employment of third-country nationals in Belgium and the EU, and to draw attention to the EMN studies on this subject, the Belgian Contact Point of the EMN has made a short video.
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Main Theme: Migration
Keywords: illegal employment
28 March 2018
Two United Nations agencies are joining forces to combat migrant smuggling. They organized an event centering on a Joint Platform on Countering Migrant Smuggling.
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Main Theme: Smuggling & Trafficking
Keywords: migrant smuggling
26 March 2018
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.
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Main Theme: Economic migration
Keywords: single permit directive
24 March 2018
The government approved on 24 March 2018 a new reduction plan for reception places for applicants for international protection. Today the reception network consists of 23,815 reception places. This should be reduced to 16,629 reception places in 2019, of which 10,044 collective places and 6,585 individual reception places. With this plan, the network returns to the level preceding the reception crisis.
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Main Theme: Reception
Keywords: reception place
23 March 2018
In February, Fedasil, the federal agency in charge of the reception of asylum seekers, has signed a framework agreement with the Belgian development agency, Enabel (www.enabel.be).
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Main Theme: Return & Readmission
Keywords: coopération au développement
23 March 2018
Voluntary returns to the countries of origin are decreasing. Among others, this is the result of the lower number of asylum applications the past two years.
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Main Theme: Return & Readmission
Keywords: voluntary return
20 March 2018
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.
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Main Theme: International Protection
Keywords: asylum applications, asylum decisions
14 March 2018
The European Commission proposes to reform the EU's common visa policy. It also reports on - and calls for - further progress under the European Agenda on Migration. Finally it mobilises additional funding for Syrian refugees in Turkey.
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Main Theme: External Dimension, Migration
Keywords: European Agenda on Migration, visa code, Turkey
12 March 2018
Today, March 12, 2018 the Law of 21 November 2017 (adopted in the Parliament on Nov. 9) modifying the Immigration Act was published in the Belgian Official Gazette and will come into force on March 22, 2018.
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Main Theme: International Protection
Keywords: asylum law
26 February 2018
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.
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Main Theme: Borders & Visa, Irregular Migration, Smuggling & Trafficking
Keywords: transit migration, transit migrants, United Kingdom
23 February 2018
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.
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Main Theme: Irregular Migration, Return & Readmission
Keywords: Guinea
20 February 2018
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.
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Main Theme: Borders & Visa, Irregular Migration, Return & Readmission, Smuggling & Trafficking
Keywords: Frontex, risk analysis, border management
09 February 2018
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.
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Main Theme: Return & Readmission
Keywords: removal
01 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.
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Main Theme: Cross-sectional
01 February 2018
New figures published today by EASO show a significant decrease in the number of asylum applications made in the EU in 2017.
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Main Theme: International Protection
Keywords: EASO, asylum applications, asylum decisions, unaccompanied minors, Syria
31 January 2018
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.
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Main Theme: Asylum
Keywords: global compact on refugees
05 January 2018
In 2018, a total of 1.150 refugees will be selected in the frame of the resettlement programme (Syrians, Congolese and refugees of the Central Mediterranean route) in order to be transferred to Belgium.
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Main Theme: International Protection
Keywords: réinstallation
01 January 2018
As of 1 January 2018, certain third-country nationals have the obligation to follow an integration programme in the German-speaking Community.
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Main Theme: Integration
Keywords: integration programme, Integration path, German-speaking Community
01 January 2018
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.
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Main Theme: Asylum, Migration
Keywords: Bulgarian Presidency
29 December 2017
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.
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Main Theme: Borders & Visa
Keywords: entry exit system, smart border
22 December 2017
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.
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Main Theme: Return & Readmission
Keywords: CGRS
19 December 2017
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.
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Main Theme: Return & Readmission
Keywords: EU Action Plan on Return
15 December 2017
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.
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Main Theme: Data & Statistics, Migration
Keywords: migration statistics
08 December 2017
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.