On 6 July, ICMPD organised a workshop with Moldovan stakeholders as part of the project “Capacity for a Rights-Based Reception System for Moldova” (CareFor) to update the national migration data indicators’ framework. The data indicators on migration and asylum require adjustment to European standards, especially after Moldova recently gained the candidate status and became an observer to the European Migration Network.
Moldova's data indicators framework in the area of migration and asylum has been in place for over a decade now. It allowed for compiling a variety of useful statistical products, including the country’s Extended Migration Profile published periodically. Given the ever-changing realities, however, especially the recent inflow of people from Ukraine and the subsequent introduction of the Temporary Protection, there is a need to update the respective framework with the view to get more accurate statistics and have better-informed policy-making. Similarly, the recently acquired EU candidate status by Moldova, along with observer membership in the European Migration Network (EMN), heightened the expectations for good quality data through adjustment to the Eurostat standards.
With the support of an EU and national expert duo, the workshop gathered representatives of relevant public authorities to exchange experiences and insights, as well as to discuss the perceived needs to update the data indicators. Participants identified gaps in areas such as foreigners’ integration and public order and security, flagged the need for glossary approximation, as well as for increased frequency of statistical products. Attendees included representatives of the Inspectorate-General for Migration, National Bureau of Statistics, National Employment Agency, Border Police, Counter-Trafficking Centre, Diaspora Relations Bureau, Public Service Agency, National Public Health Agency, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration. After the workshop, the experts will continue facilitating the inter-agency exchange with the view to finalise a proposal for adjusting the current indicators framework on migration.
The project “Capacity for a Rights-Based Reception System for Moldova” (CareFor), funded by the Polish Ministry of the Interior and Administration, aims to contribute to a functioning and human rights compliant migration management system in Moldova while addressing some of the more immediate needs caused by the unprecedented inflow of displaced people from Ukraine.