23 March 2016

Developments

• UNHCR redefined their role in Greece as EU-Turkey agreement comes into effect.
• European Commission proposal to implement EU-Turkey agreement: 54,000 places allocated for resettlement of Syrians from Turkey.
• European Commission President Juncker appointed Maarten Verwey to act as the EU Coordinator to implement the EU-Turkey statement.
• Joint EU-Turkey statement following European Council meeting, 18 March 2016.
• Main conclusions of the European Council, 17-18 March 2016.
• European Commission communication to the European Parliament, the European Council and the Council on operational steps in EU-Turkey cooperation in the field of migration.
• European Commission announced €445 million in humanitarian aid for the Syria Crisis in 2016.

Reports

• European Commission published Study on gender dimension of trafficking in human beings.
• Frontex published Frontex Risk Analysis Network (FRAN) Quarterly Report (Quarter 4, 2015).
• EASO published a Country of Origin Information (COI) report entitled Security situation in Somali.
• Frontex published Guidelines for Processing of Third Country Nationals through Automated Border Control.
• IOM launched findings of a survey on Human Trafficking and Exploitation Prevalence on Eastern Mediterranean Migrant Routes.
• Asylum Information Database (AIDA) released a new country report on Serbia.

Newsletter

• Fundamental Rights Agency: Newsletter March 2016.
• Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM): Newsletter March 2016.
• ICMPD: Monthly Update March 2016.
• EASO: Newsletter February 2016.
• European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE): Newsletter Issue 16, February 2016.

Statistics / Trends

• IOM update: Over 160,547 migrants and refugees arrived in Europe to-date in 2016; over 488 deaths.
• Eurostat: Figures show over 1.2 million first time asylum seekers registered in the EU-28 in 2015.
• European Commission visa statistics: Schengen States issued 14.3 million visas for short stays in 2015.

Events

31 March – 1 April 2016: The Nordic Council of Ministers’ Office in Estonia, the University of Tartu and the Estonian Contact Point for the European Migration Network in Tallinn University will hold a conference on Immigration to the Nordic-Baltic Region: New Trends and Integration Challenges, in Tallin, Estonia.

15 April 2016: The Luxembourg Contact Point of the European Migration Network (LU EMN NCP) will  hold a Conference on Statelessness at the University of Luxembourg on Campus Kirchberg, Luxembourg

2 May 2016: National EMN Conference Austria: The Establishment of Identity in the Migration Process in Vienna, Austria.

19 May 2016: Public Policy Exchange host Driving Forward Multilevel Integration for Migrants in Europe: Improving Access to Education and to the Labour Market in Brussels, Belgium.

3 June 2016: The Norwegian National Contact Point (NO EMN NCP) Conference on the future of the European asylum and refugee system, Rethinking asylum and refugee protection in Oslo, Norway. Email: [email protected]

20 – 23 June 2016: European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights “Fundamental Rights Forum” on Rights, Respect, Reality: the Europe of Values in Today’s World in Vienna, Austria.

11 – 13 July 2016: European Network on Statelessness,  #StatelessKids Youth Congress 2016 at the Maastricht University Campus, Brussels, Belgium.

Summer schools

4 – 15 July 2016: Odysseus Network Summer School on EU Immigration and Asylum Law and Policy, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) in Brussels, Belgium

27 June – 8 July 2016: Migration Policy Centre Migration Summer School: Approaches to International Migration at Origin and Destination: Theories, Policies and Methods for Analysis in Florence, Italy

8 March 2016

Developments

• Statement by the EU heads of state / government following meeting with Turkey to discuss cooperation on the migration and refugee crisis (8 March 2016).
• European Commission roadmap for restoring a fully functioning Schengen system.
• European Commission progress report on the implementation of the hotspot approach in Greece.
• European Commission third implementation report on EU-Turkey Joint Action Plan.

26 February 2016

Developments

• Main results of the Justice and Home Affairs Council.  Ministers discussed the implementation of existing measures on migration and several proposals on border management (25 February 2016).
• Europol launched a new European Migrant Smuggling Centre (EMSC). 
• European Council adopted Conclusions on Migration (18 February 2016). 
• EU-Turkey Cooperation: First meeting of the Steering Committee of the Facility for Refugees in Turkey.
• A high level dialogue took place between the EU Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development and the International Organization for Migration.

Reports / Studies

• Europol launched a report on Migrant smuggling in the EU.
• European Parliament published a report on Practices and Approaches in EU Member States to Prevent and End Statelessness.
• Frontex published Africa-Frontex Intelligence Community Joint Report for 2015.

Statistics / Trends

• Frontex update: number of migrants arriving in Greece down 40% in January 2016 compared to December 2015, due largely to bad weather conditions.
• EASO:  latest asylum trends January 2016.
• IOM update:  Over 102,547 Mediterranean migrant and refugee arrivals to-date in 2016; over 400 deaths.

Newsletters

• Fundamental Rights Agency: Newsletter February 2016.
• ICMPD: Newsletter Monthly Update Issue 2 2016.

Events

26  – 27 February 2016: Odysseus Network’s 1st Annual Conference on Searching for Solidarity in EU Asylum and Border Policies. Venue: Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium.

15 April 2016: The Luxembourg Contact Point of the European Migration Network (LU EMN NCP) will  hold a Conference on Statelessness. Venue: University of Luxembourg on Campus Kirchberg.

2 May 2016: National EMN Conference Austria: The Establishment of Identity in the Migration Process, Vienna, Austria.

3 June 2016: The Norwegian National Contact Point (NO EMN NCP) Conference on the future of the European asylum and refugee system, Rethinking asylum and refugee protection. Venue: Oslo, Norway. Email: [email protected]

Summer schools

4 – 15 July 2016: Odysseus Network Summer School on EU Immigration and Asylum Law and Policy. Venue: Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium.

27 June – 8 July 2016: Migration Policy Centre Migration Summer School: Approaches to International Migration at Origin and Destination: Theories, Policies and Methods for Analysis
Venue: Florence, Italy. 

Call for papers

Europe’s Crisis: What Future for Immigration and Asylum Law and Policy?, Queen Mary University of London, extended deadline 15 March.

12 February 2016

Developments

• European Commission reported on progress in implementing the European Agenda on Migration.
• NATO Defence Ministers agreed on supports to assist with the Refugee and Migrant Crisis.
• European Commission welcomed the agreement by Member States on the details of the €3 billion Refugee Facility for Turkey.
• European Council adopted a recommendation on addressing deficiencies identified during an evaluation of Greece’s application of the Schengen acquis in the area of external border management.
• European Commission has awarded €1.36 million in emergency funding to Greece for the acquisition of 90 fingerprinting devices.
• Priorities under the Dutch EU Presidency include a number of issues relating to migration and international security, in particular, common border control, reception of refugees and asylum and migration policy.
• European Council and Member States adopted conclusions on Statelessness which foresee a role for the European Migration Network as a platform to provide information on good practices among Members States concerning statelessness.
• European Commission has launched a public consultation on Tackling migrant smuggling: is the EU legislation fit for purpose?  The consultation is open until 6 April 2016.
• Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) issued a call for initiatives on Local responses to refugee crisis: from initial reception to longer term integration. Deadline 29 April 2016.

Reports / Studies

• European Migration Network Return Experts Group published Guidelines for Monitoring and Evaluation of AVR(R) Programmes.
• IOM published World Migration Report 2015 – Migrants and Cities: New Partnerships to Manage Mobility.
• Human Rights Watch released World Report 2016 (Events of 2015).
• Migration Policy Institute published a report Getting the Balance right: Strengthening asylum reception capacity at national and EU levels.
• OECD published a paper on Financial education and the long-term integration of refugees and migrants.
• OECD released a report Making Integration Work: Refugees and others in need of protection.
• Directorate-General for Research and Innovation published a report on Research on Migration – Facing Realities and Maximising Opportunities:- A Policy Review.
• European Council on Refugees and Exiles (ECRE) published Navigating the Maze: Structural Barriers to accessing Protection in Austria as well as an updated Country report: on Turkey.
• UNHCR and the World Bank published a collaborative report on  The Welfare of Syrian Refugees: Evidence from Jordan and Lebanon.
• UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (UNESCWA) and IOM launched the 2015 Situation Report on International Migration: Migration, Displacement and Development in a Changing Arab Region in Beirut, Lebanon.
• Frontex released  analysis of borders in the Western Balkans for third quarter of 2015 and analysis of  EU’s eastern borders for third quarter of 2015.
• EASO issued information leaflet on Relocation of applicants for international protection 2016.
• International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) issued an infographic 2015 in review – how Europe reacted to the refugee crisis.
• ICMPD released a policy brief How are the war in Syria and the refugee crisis affecting human trafficking? and full study Targeting Vulnerabilities: The Impact of the Syrian War and Refugee Situation on Trafficking in Persons, a study of Syria, Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq.
• PICUM published a position paper entitled Undocumented Migrants and the Europe 2020 Strategy: Making Social Inclusion a Reality for all Migrants in Europe.
• OECD published Immigrant Students at School: Easing the Journey towards Integration.   
• Migration Policy Institute released  Top 10 Migration Issues of 2015.

Statistics / Trends

• EASO Asylum Trends – 2015 Overview.

Newsletters

• Odysseus Network Newsletter February 2016.
• Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants (PICUM) Newsletter – February 2016.
• EMN Bulletin October 2015 – December 2015 – Issue 13.
• EASO Newsletter January 2016.
• European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) Newsletter January 2016 – Issue 15.
• OECD Migration Policy Debates – Issue December 2015.

Events

• 26 – 27 February 2016: Odysseus Network’s 1st Annual Conference on Searching for Solidarity in EU Asylum and Border Policies. Venue: Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Brussels, Belgium.

• 15 April 2016: The Luxembourg Contact Point of the European Migration Network (LU EMN NCP) would hold a Conference on Statelessness. Venue: University of Luxembourg on Campus Kirchberg.

Event proceedings

• 27-28 January 2016: European Commission Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs organised the first European Dialogue on Skills and Migration.

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