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. 

Vandaag heeft het Belgische Contactpunt van het Europees Migratienetwerk (EMN) een conferentie georganiseerd over de voornaamste ontwikkelingen op het vlak van asiel en migratie die zich hebben voorgedaan in 2017.

Op 26 oktober 2017 werd de algemene beleidsnota asiel en migratie van de Staatssecretaris voor Asiel en Migratie gepubliceerd. De beleidsnota brengt een overzicht van de belangrijkste verwezenlijkingen en beleidsprioriteiten op het vlak van asiel en migratie.

Het Belgisch Contactpunt van het EMN organiseerde op 05.10.2017 een bijeenkomst te Brussel over de illegale tewerkstelling van derdelanders. Deze conferentie bracht toonaangevende experten samen voor een constructieve en stimulerende dialoog over deze interessante problematiek.

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.

The return of irregular migrants is one of the main pillars of the EU’s policy on migration and asylum. In this light the EMN will conduct in 2017 a study on ‘The effectiveness of return in EU Member States: challenges and good practices linked to EU rules and standards‘. The synthesis report of this study is expected to be published at the end of 2017. The Belgian national report will probably be published at the beginning of 2018.

Today, the thematic Council of Ministers on security, justice and defence approved a series of measures, including the proposal of the State Secretary for Asylum Policy and Migration to increase the capacity of the closed detention centres for irregularly staying migrants.

This conference of the German Contact Point of the EMN, which will take place in Berlin on 4 May, focuses on return counselling, integrated return management and reintegration.

Today, two new laws have entered into force. They focus on the procedure to end the residence rights and organized the removal of foreign nationals legally residing in Belgium for reasons of public order or national security.

Today the European Commission presented new measures in the context of the review of the EU return policy which was announced in the Malta Declaration from 3 February 2017.

On 11 November 2014, the European Commission has released its 6th bi-annual report on the functioning of the Schengen area covering the period from 1 May to 31 October 2014.

On 20 October 2014, the European Ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly, has opened an investigation into how Frontex ensures the respect of fundamental rights of migrants who are subject to forced returns from the EU to their countries of origin.

Op 12 en 13 Juni 2014 vond de Conferentie van 2014 van het Europees Migratienetwerk plaats over ‘irreguliere migratie en terugkeer: uitdagingen en praktijken’ De conferentie werd georganiseerd in Athene in het kader van het Griekse Voorzitterschap van de Europese Unie.

This year, the EMN Conference aims to support the policymaking process on a number of key areas of irregular migration policy, namely readmission, return, reintegration and cooperation with countries of transit and origin, as well as re-entry bans and (alternatives to) detention.

In de Mededeling benadrukt de Commissie dat de Lidstaten de Terugkeerrichtlijn omgezet hebben in nationaal recht maar dat er ruimte is voor verbetering van de praktische uitvoering van de Richtlijn en van het terugkeerbeleid in het algemeen.