News

On World Youth Skills Day, the EU Global Diaspora Facility (EUDiF) publishes recommendations from diaspora youth on how to integrate youth perspectives in migration policy processes and beyond. The recommendations cover recognition of youth expertise, access to funding and inclusion in governance structures.

On 19 June 2024, ICMPD and the OECD held a joint conference on Skills Mobility Partnerships (SMPs), in Paris, France. The event, organised under the auspices of Greece’s 2024 Chairmanship of the ICMPD Steering Group, brought together approximately 130 representatives from governments, international organisations, the European Commission, and the private sector to discuss challenges, opportunities, and innovations shaping the future of labour mobility initiatives and legal labour migration in general.

In the past year alone, Cabo Verde has seen a steep increase in migrant arrivals on boats, mostly aiming for the Canary Islands — the closest European destination they can try to reach. Dozens arrived on the island of São Vicente; while in 2023, from those who survived the journey, 38 arrived in Sal and 90 in Boa Vista.

On 27 June 2024, the Continent-to-Continent Migration and Mobility Dialogue (C2CMMD) convened a strategic update meeting in Brussels, marking the first in-person gathering since December 2019, and bringing together the co-chairs from the European Union (EU) and the African Union Commission (AUC), as well as respective thematic focal points. 

On Friday 28 June, the Director General of ICMPD, Michael Spindelegger, and the ICMPD Silk Routes regional office team met with a high-level Iraqi delegation in Vienna to discuss ongoing cooperation, key areas of work and the strategic pathway forward.

Europe needs more workers. But as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia dominate the global labour market¹, the European Union is caught in a ‘bruising worldwide battle’ to attract and keep workers in the region². Even as some Member States remain in strong positions, the EU collectively falls behind in recruiting and retaining international talent.

On 25 and 26 June 2024, ICMPD’s Director General, Michael Spindelegger, participated in the Salzburg Forum Ministerial Conference 2024 in Laxenburg, Austria. The Salzburg Forum is a Central European security partnership focused on fostering dialogue on internal security among relevant stakeholders. In this edition, organised by the Austrian Chairmanship of the Salzburg Forum, the topic of migration and the fight against human trafficking was one of the focus areas of the conference.

On 25 June, the EU4IBM-Resilience project, funded by the EU and implemented by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), delivered a modern cargo X-ray scanner to the “Chop (Tysa)” border crossing point. Valued at approximately EUR 2.5 million EUR, this donation is part of the "EU-Ukraine Solidarity Lanes" initiative launched to ensure the efficient flow of trade across Ukraine's borders after the Russian full-scale invasion.

The 19 June 2024 marks five years of the EU Global Diaspora Facility (EUDiF), based at ICMPD’s Brussels office. Simultaneously, EUDiF celebrates the end of its first phase and starts a second to continue its work to support an informed, inclusive and impactful diaspora-development ecosystem. 

On 4 and 5 June, ICMPD Member States met in Athens for the 82nd ICMPD Steering Group, under the auspices of the Minister of Migration and Asylum of Greece, Dimitris Kairidis.

From 3-7 June 2024, ICMPD and the African Union Commission (AUC) organised a Simulation Training in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe with participants from the media and from CSOs to test the training on “Migration in Africa – Myths and Reality”.

On June 4 2024, the Nordic countries launched NORAQ (Nordic Support on Return and Reintegration in Iraq), a joint initiative aimed at addressing the multifaceted challenges of migration management in Iraq. The inauguration ceremony took place in Baghdad marking a step towards enhanced cooperation and support for Iraq's migration and reintegration efforts.

The Moving the Migration Policy Agenda Forward (MMPAF) taking place online in autumn 2024 has an open call for scholarship applicants. This collaborative effort, is funded by the European Union (EU) through the Migration Partnership Facility (MPF) of the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), and implemented by UNU-MERIT and Maastricht University.

VIENNA, 6 June 2024 – The International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) opens new Migrant Resource Centres (MRCs) in Iraq and Pakistan. The MRCs promote safe and regular migration processes for prospective migrants, fight trafficking and people-smuggling through raising awareness, provide pre-departure counselling for emigrants, post-arrival briefings to migrant workers and offer re-integration support for the returnees.

On June 5 2024, Türkiye’s National Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration Mechanism (NAVRR) Project, implemented by the Representation of the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) in Türkiye, organized a training and consultation session for Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) as part of four strategic sessions on the understanding and involvement in Türkiye’s NAVRR Mechanism.