Two United Nations agencies are joining forces to combat migrant smuggling. They organized an event centering on a Joint Platform on Countering Migrant Smuggling.

Om meer aandacht te krijgen voor illegale tewerkstelling van derdelanders in België en de EU en voor de EMN studies hierover, maakte het Belgisch Contactpunt van het EMN een korte video.

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.

De regering keurde op 24 maart 2018 een nieuw afbouwplan van opvangplaatsen voor verzoekers om internationale bescherming goed. Vandaag bestaat het opvangnetwerk uit 23.815 opvangplaatsen. Dat moet in 2019 terug gebracht zijn tot 16.629 opvangplaatsen, waarvan 10.044 collectieve plaatsen en 6.585 individuele opvangplaatsen. Met dit plan keert het netwerk terug naar het normale niveau van vóór de opvangcrisis.  

In Februari, Fedasil, het federaal agentschap voor de opvang van asielzoekers heeft een samenwerkingsakkord met Enabel (www.enabel.be), het Belgisch ontwikkelingsagentschap (voorheen de Belgische technische Coöperatie) getekend.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

Op 9 november 2017 organiseerden het EMN en de OESO een gezamenlijke conferentie die bestond uit twee onderdelen: uitdagingen en mogelijkheden inzake gezinshereniging, en irreguliere tewerkstelling van derdelanders in de EU.

In 2018 zal België in totaal 1.150 vluchtelingen selecteren (Syriërs, Congolezen en vluchtelingen uit de centrale Middellandse Zeeroute) in het kader van het hervestigingsprogramma in België.

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.