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For the next six months, Belgium will hold the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, a position it hasn't held since 2010. The Belgian Presidency will be particularly important as it will steer the debates on the European Council’s Strategic Agenda and lead up to the European Parliament elections in June 2024.
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Main theme: Cross-sectional
Keywords: Belgian Presidency, Council of the European Union
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As the end of the year is approaching, the team of the Belgian Contact Point to the European Migration Network (EMN) wishes you a happy holiday season. We also wish you and your loved ones, all the best for the new year!
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Main theme: Cross-sectional
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The European Migration Network (EMN), marks a significant milestone this year, celebrating 15 years of dedicated service providing objective, comparable, and policy-relevant information on emerging issues related to asylum and migration. For this occasion, the EMN publishes a document spotlighting its most influential achievements and contributions from 2018 to 2022 at both EU and national levels.
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Main theme: Cross-sectional
Keywords: European Migration Network, impact analysis, 15th anniversary
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After three years of negotiations, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union have reached an agreement on the core political elements of five key regulations that will thoroughly overhaul the EU's legal framework on asylum and migration.
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Eurochild and the Federation of Non-Governmental Organisations for Children (FONPC) are organising an international conference to share good practices and lessons on how civil society can facilitate the integration of refugee and asylum-seeking children.
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Main theme: Vulnerable groups
Keywords: children, Integration
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The 14th summit of the Global Forum on Migration and Development will focus on "From environmental concerns to cultural aspects of migration: adopting an inclusive approach to meet the challenges and increases the opportunities for human mobility". This high-level event will mark the conclusion of the French Chairmanship of the GFMD.
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Main theme: Cross-sectional
Keywords: Global Forum for Migration and Development, climate change, human mobility
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This morning, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo officially presented the program and priorities of the Belgian presidency of the Council of the European Union. From 1 January 2024, Belgium will be at the head of all meetings and negotiations within the Council of the European Union for six months.
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Main theme: Cross-sectional
Keywords: Belgian Presidency, Council of the European Union
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While a draft law introducing a new right of residence for stateless persons is currently being discussed in Parliament, ENS and Nansen underline that the project has a large number of formal and substantive conditions and reduced procedural guarantees. They conclude that it is not compatible with the obligation to have a fair, effective and accessible procedure for the access of stateless people to their rights.
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Main theme: Statelessness
Keywords: stateless persons, right of residence
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This virtual event is part of the OECD COP28 Virtual Pavilion, which runs from 23 November to 12 December 2023. The pavilion presents key OECD contributions with insights to drive ambitious and globally effective action on climate change.
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Main theme: Vulnerable groups
Keywords: forced displacement, climate change
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EMN Malta, in collaboration with the Human Rights Directorate, organises a conference on intersectional integration. The aim is to discuss the need for an intersectional approach in policies, strategies and services relating to migrants who, as a non-homogeneous category, have multiple identities.
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Main theme: Integration
Keywords: intersectionality, identity
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In a press release published today, Myria says it receives many reports from people linked in one way or another to Belgium, who are stuck in extremely threatening circumstances in Gaza.
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Main theme: Cross-sectional
Keywords: Gaza, Palestinian, visa application, international protection
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Through its campaign “So what, we continue the exploitation?”, the CIRÉ underlines that undocumented workers who informally fill the labour needs, are at risk of being exploited. It pleads to give them access to legal work, particularly through the single permit procedure.
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Main theme: Cross-sectional
Keywords: undocumented migrants, undocumented worker, single permit, labour shortages, labour exploitation
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The Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration discussed today with mayors and aldermen of the five major cities of Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent, Charleroi and Liège to find ways to reduce the administrative burden in the field of asylum and migration, to guide illegally staying third-country nationals towards return and to implement social initiatives promoting, among others, the employment of applicants for international protection.
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Main theme: Cross-sectional
Keywords: cities, administrative burden, proactive return policy, labour market access
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Samusocial, CIRÉ, Médecins du Monde, Ilot and the Brussels Platform Armoede have launched the campaign "Without papers, without rights, without shelter" to demonstrate the reality of undocumented persons and to propose concrete recommendations to policymakers in this field.
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Main theme: Vulnerable groups
Keywords: homeless, undocumented migrants, access to employment, access to healthcare, gender
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The 4th edition of the annual Migration & Health Seminar, jointly organised by the Institute of Tropical Medicine and the University of Antwerp (MIGLOBA; previously CEMIS), will focus on mental health and migration.
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Main theme: Vulnerable groups
Keywords: mental health, diversity, psychiatric care, mental well-being
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The World Health Organization has published its first-ever global research agenda on health, migration and displacement to guide research efforts to understand and address the health needs of migrants, refugees, and all forcibly displaced populations and shape responsive policies and practices worldwide.
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Main theme: Vulnerable groups
Keywords: health, health emergency, migrant health
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In a new state of play published today, the European Commission reviews the state of affairs regarding progress on the New Pact on Migration and Asylum. Key developments since the last state of play from April 2023 are highlighted.
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Main theme: Cross-sectional
Keywords: New Pact on Migration and Asylum
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This conference will focus on access to education and the role of education in the development and social inclusion of migrant children. It will be an opportunity for networking and experience sharing between partners who are working on questions related to the well-being of migrant children, as well as an opportunity to bring in different perspectives from other (selected) EU Member States, which have reported developments on access to education for migrant children in the last few years.
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Main theme: Vulnerable groups
Keywords: migrant child, access to education, social inclusion
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EMN Serbia, which newly joined the European Migration Network as an Observer Country in March 2023, organises its first national conference. The conference will focus on circular migration schemes and diasporas moving back to their countries of origin.
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Main theme: External Dimension
Keywords: circular migration, diaspora
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The International Migration Outlook 2023, published today by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), highlights inter alia that permanent-type migration to OECD countries increased by 26% in 2022 compared with 2021. In Belgium and in many OECD countries, permanent-type migration was higher in 2022 than in any of the previous 15 years.
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Main theme: Data & Statistics
Keywords: international migration trend, labour market integration, permanent migration
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Home Affairs Ministers met at the JHA Council in Brussels on 19 October. They discussed progress on the New Pact on Migration and Asylum and exchanged views on the EU’s approach to the external dimension of migration. They stressed that the EU should efficiently use all the tools at its disposal to develop a preventive model which would hinder irregular departures, as well as to foster the effectiveness of returns.
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Main theme: Cross-sectional
Keywords: Justice and Home Affairs Council, New Pact on Migration and Asylum, external dimension, return policy
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The European Council invited the Commission to present an Action Plan on the Eastern Mediterranean route, as part of a broader approach to help alleviate the pressure on Member States faced with large numbers of irregular arrivals along the route. This Action Plan identifies operational measures that will contribute to addressing the ongoing challenges along this route.
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Main theme: Cross-sectional
Keywords: EU Action Plan for the Eastern Mediterranean route
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This conference organised by the Finnish Contact Point of the EMN aims to promote dialogue between different actors and to find new perspectives on how to develop the assessment of the best interests of the child in migration processes.
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Main theme: Vulnerable groups
Keywords: best interests of the child
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The EMN Steering Board has voted on the topics which will be analysed in studies and informs in 2024. In line with the targets outlined in the 2023-2025 work programme of the EMN, 3 new studies and 10 new informs will be published next year.
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Main theme: Cross-sectional
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Eurostat published today data referring to the attribution of temporary protection status based on the Council Implementing Decision 2022/382 of 4 March 2022. On 31 August 2023, almost 4.2 million non-EU citizens, who fled Ukraine as a consequence of the Russian invasion on 24 February 2022, had temporary protection status in EU countries.