In this edition of EMNews, the following news are inter alia highlighted:

• General developments: On 16 July, the European Commission proposed a new Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) totalling nearly €2 trillion. Funding for migration, border management, and internal security was set to triple, enabling EU Member States to implement the Pact on Migration and Asylum, digitalise border controls, and strengthen law enforcement under the recently adopted Protect EU – Internal Security Strategy.
   
• Legal migration: On 18 August, new and stricter rules for family reunification took effect in Belgium. Changes include a higher minimum age for spouses, a revised definition of adequate housing, higher income requirements, and updated conditions for family reunification with stateless persons and beneficiaries of international or temporary protection.
   
• International protection including asylum: On 26 August, in a note on the resettled refugees reception policy, the Ministry of the Interior set the target for 2025 at 3 000 resettled refugees, to be distributed across the entire metropolitan territory except EMNews July – September 2025 6 for Île-de-France and Corsica. 
   
• Unaccompanied minors and other vulnerable groups: In Greece, the age assessment procedure was revised in a Joint Ministerial Decision no.147627/2025 introducing the use of a combined method for verifying the age of asylum seekers who claim to be minor: a medical evaluation of physical development, a psychosocial assessment and a wrist/hand X-ray to estimate bone age.
   
• Integration and inclusion: In Estonia, support groups for independent Estonian language learners started in Tartu, Narva, and online, running until March 2026. Participants meet weekly with a tutor for 78 academic hours. The programme targets adults from diverse backgrounds, including new migrants and returnees
   
• Citizenship and statelessness: In Belgium, a law was adopted raising the fee for acquiring Belgian nationality from €150 to €1 000. This applies to the declaration procedure and naturalisation applications submitted via municipal administrations or the Naturalisation Committee.
   
• Border management and irregular migration: On 10 July, France and the UK concluded an agreement to organise the return of migrants between the two countries, in force from 6 August until June 2026. The agreement establishes the so-called ˋone-in, one-out´ rule, to deter foreign nationals who have arrived in France from illegally crossing the English Channel to reach British territory.
   
• Trafficking in human beings: In Malta, as of 1 October 2025, third-country nationals identified as victims of trafficking in human beings in Malta are no longer required to pay application fees for residence permits. The permits now have one-year validity—up from six months—and can be renewed for the full duration of any ongoing judicial proceedings related to their case.
   
• Return and readmission: On 2 September, Austria deported two individuals to Somalia for the first time in nearly 20 years, making Austria among the first EU Member State to resume returns to Somalia. Between July and October, Austria deported three individuals to Damascus - the first returns in recent years.
   
• Migration and development: On 23 July, Spain and Paraguay signed a Memorandum of Understanding to enable the selection of Paraguayan workers in their country of origin to work temporarily in Spain in sectors facing labour shortages.

For detailed news, please read the EMNews attached above.