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.

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.

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.

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.

Today the Commission adopted a new communication requiring immediate action from the EU and Member States to disrupt the modus operandi of traffickers, strengthen victims' rights and intensify EU internal and external efforts to provide a coordinated and consistent response.

Myria launches today the 8th edition of Myriatics. This edition sheds light on immigrations from foreigners to Belgium. It reflects inter alia on the position of EU-28 citizens within total immigrations to Belgium, as well as on the increasing importance of Syria as country of origin of immigrants to Belgium.

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. 

A joint European Migration Network & OECD event exploring the topics of family migration and illegal employment took place in Brussels on 9 November 2017.

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.

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.

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.