On the occasion of the international migrants day, this conference will inter alia focus on how to integrate and support refugees and on which role Flemish authorities can play in the current crisis.

In the context of the unprecedented influx of refugees and migrants, the COMECE wishes to look behind the immediate horizon of the crisis and consider how best to integrate migrants into the host society.

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.

De Europese Commissie heeft vandaag beslist om het niveau van haar cofinanciering te verhogen voor noodsteun, en dit via het Europees civiele beschermingsmechanisme geactiveerd via Hongarije, Servië, Slovenië en Kroatië.

‘Inburgering’ en ‘integratie’ worden zowel op kwantitatieve als kwalitatieve wijze in beeld gebracht en worden op diepgaande wijze bestudeerd in een aantal belangrijke sociale en transversale domeinen zoals onder meer onderwijs, woonsituatie, arbeidsmarkt, ondernemerschap en recht.

Following the increase in the number of asylum seekers, the Belgian government approved a series of measures to progressively increase the reception capacity .

The European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker, writes on the challenge of the migration issue.

To face the important inflow of asylum seekers in Belgium, the government has taken measures to create additional reception places.

Interior ministers in Brussels on Monday (20 July) fell short of a European Commission-proposed target to relocate 40,000 asylum seekers arriving in Greece and Italy over the next two years. However according to EU Commissioner Avramopoulos significant progress was made on different topics.

The Centre for Ethnic and Migration Studies (CEDEM) of the University of Liège will hold a scientific thematic workshop on “Religion and the political participation and mobilization of immigrant groups: a transatlantic perspective”

The first meeting of the European Migration Forum will take place on 26-27 January 2015 in Brussels. Through a participatory approach and the involvement of civil society organizations, the European Migration Forum will provide a platform for exchanges on migration, asylum and integration issues.

Under the Italian Presidency of the European Union a two days conference on European Migration Policy and Integration is organized in Rome on 17-18 December 2014.

As part of the implementation of the government agreement of October 2014 as well as of the new reception scheme, the reduction of available reception places for asylum seekers has been approved by the Council of Ministers of 11 December 2014.

On 4 December 2014, 22 Syrian refugees landed in Belgium for resettlement. 53 more are expected to arrive by the end of the year. Further resettlements of Syrian refugees are planned in 2015.

This meeting will discuss the dynamics by which migrants get stuck in low-skilled work, and the role of training and employment services in helping them progress in their occupations.

Since 13 November 2014 and until May 2015, Belgium is chairing the Committee of Ministers, the political decision making organ of the Council of Europe. Under the Belgian Presidency, migration and asylum will be part of the issues tackled.

The IOM Country Office for Belgium and Luxembourg organize an event to illustrate the positive contribution of migrants, in various domains and to highlight some concrete examples of their contributions to the host societies at the international, European, and Belgian levels.

This International Symposium aims to discuss the current challenges of migration and integration in Europe, and to reignite the debate about an EU-wide strategy to improve integration policies across Member States.

The Centre for the History of Migrants (CGM) organizes an international workshop to analyze how policies and practices travel, especially between the Netherlands and Belgium as neighbouring countries with more or less similar immigration histories.