News

2023 marks the 30^th anniversary of the Budapest Process. This December, Budapest Process Senior Officials will gather in Istanbul to celebrate its anniversary. At the same time, discussions on the new Ministerial Declaration and Action Plan to be adopted in its upcoming Ministerial Conference will commence. As the dialogue ushers itself to a new phase, it is worth taking stock of its successes from the early days to what it has become today.

Back in 1993, Ministers and delegates from 41 countries and organisations gathered in Budapest and agreed upon 32 recommendations to take forward and implement jointly. In its first phase, the dialogue focused mainly on tackling irregular migration with recommendations at the time linked to exchange of information, improvement of border management and legal harmonisation of crimes such as trafficking in human beings.

Since that first Budapest Process meeting, the dialogue has evolved and expanded both thematically and geographically while keeping some key components of its early meetings, which led to its success and sustained engagement.

Between March and April 2023, a cohort of eight Senegalese entrepreneurs set forth on a journey to Belgium with the mission of forging and securing business partnerships with Belgium businesses. Facilitated by the PEM WECCO project, this marked the first group of entrepreneurs to participate in a circular mobility scheme aimed at transferring knowledge and good practices between Belgian and Senegalese businesses. The PEM WECCO project is funded by the European Union and contracted by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) through the Migration Partnership Facility (MPF).

At its core, PEM WECCO aims to bolster the capacities of Senegalese entrepreneurs, connecting them with their Belgian counterparts through short-term migration opportunities designed for business purposes. In parallel, the project aims to construct a sustainable economic link between the two countries by engendering an enabling environment for institutional dialogue around professional mobility, thereby establishing entrepreneurial mobility pathways as a safe and reliable channel for temporary migration.

The EU-funded project, entitled 'Women as Financially Independent Rural Actors - WAFIRA' has the concept of 'abundance' at its core. This abundance, which in fact, translates to WAFIRA in Arabic, is representative of the harvest season, for which thousands of Moroccan migrant women travel to Spain each year, but above all the development impact and socio-economic prospects for migrant workers brought about by the initiative.

Hanan, Fatima, Latifa and Fatiha are just four of the 250 women who have benefited from the training on self-employment and entrepreneurship skills provided by WAFIRA. They come from towns in north-western Morocco such as Khemisset and Ksar El Kebir and travel to Spain, year after year, aiming to secure a means of economic livelihood and a better future for their children and families. Their testimonies have been collected in short video clips (available below), in which the participants themselves recount their experience and what lies ahead for them: a new adventure that will lead them to put to the test the skills they acquired during their stay in Spain upon their return to Morocco.

In their decision to join WAFIRA, Hanan, Fatima, Latifa and Fatiha shared a common determination and thirst for learning, exemplifying the transformative impact of education and perseverance. Their involvement in the training courses nurtured their curiosity and ambition and proved to be an opportunity to put their dreams into practice: Fatima plans to open a small grocery shop; Fatiha aims to offer sewing services; Latifa will start a business selling snails; and Hanan is determined to create a stable source of income for herself through her bakery.

These women are among the thousands of Moroccan women who, as part of a decades-long programme of circular labour mobility between Spain and Morocco called GECCO, migrate seasonally to the other coast of the Mediterranean, where they contribute to the agricultural harvest of strawberries.

Transnational families – a phenomena that is becoming all too common globally and notably in Eastern European countries such as Moldova and Ukraine, arises when one or more nuclear family member  (typically a parent) relocate to a foreign country in search for a better life. Despite the separation imposed by borders, these families remain united, sharing support and resources. Typically, the decision to migrate is not only fuelled by financial need but by the pursuit of better living standards for the entire family. The decision to migrate, though seemingly autonomous, often stems from dire circumstances, leaving few alternative options. The absence of adequate social safety nets drives vulnerable families to seek social security through labour migration abroad. In this manner, transnational families are the primary agents of their own social protection, with dependent members, particularly children, as beneficiaries.

The Migration Partnership Facility (MPF)-funded, “Children Left behind by Labour Migration: Supporting Moldova and Ukrainian Transnational Families in the EU” (CASTLE) project aims to explore the unique challenges faced by transnational families, specifically Moldovan and Ukrainian parents migrating abroad and their children staying behind. The project’s objective is to support the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine in improving their child protection frameworks and migration and mobility practices, considering the social and legal impacts of labour migration on these families.

This blog, culminating from the CASTLE project’s research findings, seeks to spotlight the stories of these families, humanising their experiences. It aims to illustrate that the decisions to migrate are multifaceted, extending beyond mere financial considerations, with families often choosing migration as a means to address critical needs and gaps.

On 5^th September 2023, the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) and Members of the European Parliament Daiman Boeselager and Javier Moreno Sanchez co-hosted the Event “The Power of Labour Mobility Pilot Projects to Support EU Legal Migration Reform” at the European Parliament. More than 60 participants joined in-person – among them representatives of EU member states and EU institutions, research, and international and non-governmental organisations.

The publication of the book ‘Social Protection Programmes: Narratives of Nigerian Women and Anti-Trafficking Practitioners in Italy’ by Michela Semprebon marks the completion of the EU-funded action INSigHT (‘Building Capacity to deal with Human Trafficking and Transit Routes in Nigeria, Italy, Sweden’), implemented between 2019 and 2023 by the SSIIM UNESCO Chair of the University IUAV of Venice.

In September 2022, 18 talents from the Tangier Tetuan Al Hoceima region of the Kingdom of Morocco arrived to Seville, Spain for a four-month training in renewable energies and green economy. They were the first group of participants to join the MOVE GREEN project, who have now returned to Tangier upon completion of their training at the International University of Andalusia.

The project, funded by the European Union through ICMPD's Migration Partnership Facility (MPF), is currently supporting and accompanying the talents who are either seeking for employment opportunities or planning to start their own business in this innovative sector. This article looks into the journey of the young Moroccans in the green economy and the renewable energies and seeks to learn from their lived experience to improve the implementation of the project.

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM – 10 March, 2023 – The EU-funded Migration Partnership Facility (MPF) launched a new Call for Proposals addressing the external dimension to the EU’s border and security priorities in the migration domain. The overall indicative amount made available under the Call is EUR 13,900,000. 

Highlights of eligible activities under Borders (BMVI) funding framework (please see longer list in Call):

• Integrated border management enhancing the cooperation in border management between EU MS and partner countries;
• Investing in systems and services, training, exchange of experts, deployment of immigration liaison officers, innovative solutions and new technologies, studies;
• Strengthening the security of identity and travel documents in non-EU countries;
• Support to dialogue on visa issues with non-EU countries;
• Review and development of legislation, policy documents/strategies, action plans, policy tools and instruments, standard operating procedures;

Highlights of eligible activities under the Security (ISF) funding framework (please see longer list in Call):

• Support to thematic or cross-theme networks to improve mutual confidence, exchange and dissemination of know-how, information, experiences and best practices, pooling of resources and expertise in joint centres of excellence;
• Capacity building of relevant law enforcement, judicial authorities and administrative agencies based on expressed needs in the partner country;
• Support to joint operations in countries of origin, transit and destination, simulations and other exercises involving EU MS and partner country security actors (e.g. law enforcement, borders, judicial actors, NGOs, etc.);
• Capacity building to combat criminal networks and organisations active in migrant smuggling into the EU, to ensure effective law enforcement cooperation in this regard;
• Initiatives targeting trafficking in human beings including sexual and labour exploitation of illegally staying non-EU nationals and child trafficking;