In a recent judgment, the Court of Justice of the European Union stated that a Member State cannot exclude from the benefit of family allowances a foreign worker whose children, born in a third country, cannot prove that they have entered its territory lawfully.

Deze conferentie, gezamenlijk georganiseerd door EMN Estland en IOM Estland, richt zich op tekorten aan arbeidskrachten in de EU. De conferentie biedt inzicht in duurzame strategieën om een evenwicht te vinden tussen de lokale vraag naar arbeidskrachten en tegelijkertijd concurrentieel en aantrekkelijk te blijven voor arbeidsmigranten.

On 26 November 2024, the European Commission launched a new programme to support a Talent Partnership between the EU and Pakistan. The programme, that is funded with EUR 3 million from the EU, will enable the EU, its Member States, and Pakistan to develop a coherent set of actions on labour mobility and skills development.

Tijdens deze conferentie zal worden onderzocht hoe de voordelen van externe samenwerking op het gebied van migratie kunnen worden gemaximaliseerd. Een breed scala aan nationale en internationale deskundigen, waaronder beleidsmakers uit EU- en niet-EU-landen, mensen uit de praktijk en onderzoekers, zal discussiëren over de uitdagingen en onderdelen van effectieve migratiepartnerschappen, waarbij mogelijkheden voor zowel evenwichtige als alomvattende samenwerking en innovatieve benaderingen worden verkend.

EMN Italië organiseert een nationale conferentie met de nadruk op het aantrekken van internationaal talent en gekwalificeerde arbeidskrachten en het bevorderen van co-ontwikkeling tussen lidstaten en derde landen. Door middel van een uitwisseling van ervaringen en best practices zullen het juridische kader en de uitdagingen op dit gebied worden besproken.

On 21 October 2024, the European Ombudsman closed her inquiry on respect for human rights in the context of the EU-Tunisia Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). She concluded, inter alia, that the Commission should set out the criteria on which the suspension of contracts due to violations of human rights in the implementation of EU-funded projects in Tunisia would be based. These criteria should be made public.

Myria has published the fourth thematic section of its 2024 annual report. In this section, entitled « Economic migration, free movement and students » Myria notes that more third-country nationals were posted to Belgium in 2023 than in 2022. Posted workers from third countries are more vulnerable to exploitation than EU-based posted workers. Therefore, they urgently need increased legal protection, according to Myria.

Op 19 september 2024 presenteerde EMN België de bevindingen voor van zijn nationale bijdrage aan de komende EMN Studie over de Illegale tewerkstelling van onderdanen van derde landen (2017-2022). Daarbij werd de vergelijking gemaakt met de nationale bijdragen van EMN Oostenrijk en EMN Italië.

The Walloon administration announces that new regulations come into force on 1 September 2024 regarding salaried economic migration for foreign workers in Wallonia. The system remains largely unchanged in its principles, still falling within the broader framework of the Single Permit for work and residence authorization for foreign workers. However, a new decree of the Walloon Government organizes new features and modifications.

On 13 June 2024, the Council of the European Union agreed its position on the proposal for an EU Talent Pool to facilitate the recruitment of talent from third countries who live outside the EU, to make the EU labour market more competitive and to tackle shortages on the European labour market.

Fifteen European countries plead with the European Commission to go beyond the New Pact on Migration and Asylum. They push for comprehensive, mutually beneficial and durable partnerships with third countries located along the migratory routes. They also want to inter alia explore solutions aimed at rescuing migrants on the high seas and bringing them to a predetermined place of safety in a partner country outside the EU.

On 2 May 2024, President von der Leyen was with Cypriot President Christodoulides in Beirut to announce a financial package of EUR 1 billion for Lebanon to contribute to the country's socio-economic stability and to migration management. The deal has already received criticism from various quarters.

During the first half of 2024, pivotal policy and political developments in the area of asylum and migration were put on the agenda, including the voting of the New Pact on Migration and Asylum by the European Parliament, and the European elections. At this critical juncture, there is a need for credible evidence, established expertise and open dialogue on the direction and shape of future policymaking. Within this context, MIGNEX is convening a high-level Policy Conference on EU migration and development policy.