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Interviews with Participants of the 1st Preparatory Senior Officials’ Meeting

We are pleased to present the July-September 2026 edition of the Quarterly Review, featuring the latest updates from the Prague Process.

The Prague Process is heading into a busy autumn. With the 5^th Prague Process Ministerial Conference now only a few months away, preparations are gaining pace, while cooperation across the region continues on asylum, labour migration, skills mobility and capacity development.

At the centre of preparations is the Prague Process Action Plan 2028-2032, which will set the framework for cooperation over the next implementation period. Following the first Preparatory Senior Officials’ Meeting in Skopje in June, participating states and international organisations - parties to the Process continued to provide comments and proposals on the draft. In a next step, senior officials will meet in Prague on 10-11 November to move discussions on the Action Plan and Ministerial Declaration closer to conclusion and towards their expected endorsement by Ministers.

Beyond preparations for the Ministerial Conference, the past quarter brought asylum and international protection into focus. As the international community marks 75 years since the adoption of the 1951 Refugee Convention, UNHCR hosted the Training Workshop on Strengthening Access to Asylum and Protection-Sensitive Systems[IL1] , bringing together Prague Process participating states and international partners. Discussions ranged from mixed movements and protection-sensitive systems, to identifying vulnerabilities, combining policy perspectives with practical experience from across the region.

Labour migration and skills mobility were another prominent theme. A new report from the Prague Process Migration Observatory takes a closer look at 39 government-led skills mobility partnerships and what they can tell us about addressing labour shortages and skills mismatches. At a time when countries across the region are searching for ways to attract needed skills while making mobility work for countries of origin, destination and migrants themselves, the findings add timely evidence to a rapidly evolving policy debate.

The coming months will bring further opportunities to exchange experience and knowledge and shape the future of the Process. When senior officials meet in Prague in November, they will look back at what has been achieved during the current implementation period, but, more importantly, they will turn their attention to what comes next.

Marking the 75th year since the adoption of the Refugee Convention, Prague Process and UNHCR convened a training-workshop to strengthen access to asylum and protection-sensitive systems. The event on 15-16 September 2026 in Geneva brought together asylum and migration practitioners from across the Prague Process region, alongside representatives of UNHCR, the European Commission, EU Agency for Asylum, and IOM.

This publication examines the role of skills mobility partnerships (SMPs) as a policy tool for addressing labour shortages and skills mismatches, while expanding legal migration opportunities and supporting skills development. Based on desk research and a comparative analysis of 39 governmental SMPs, the study maps partnerships involving selected non-EU Prague Process participating states from the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

We are pleased to present the April-June 2026 edition of the Quarterly Review, featuring the latest updates from the Prague Process.

On 23–24 June 2026, the 1^st Preparatory Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) towards the 5^th Prague Process Ministerial Conference took place in Skopje, North Macedonia. Senior representatives of more than 30 participating states, the European Commission, UN and EU Agencies, as well as other international organisations gathered to discuss ongoing migration policy priorities and the future direction of the Prague Process. In January 2027, the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the EU will be hosting the 5^th Ministerial Conference in Vilnius where Ministers are expected to endorse a Joint Declaration and Action Plan for the period 2028–2032. This SOM allowed the participating states and partner organisation to jointly review and further develop the draft Action Plan, while exchanging perspectives on key migration trends and regional priorities.

The Prague Process has undergone an external mid-term assessment of the implementation of the current Action Plan 2023-2027 as part of the broader evaluation of the Migration Partnership Facility (MPF). Conducted between December 2024 and November 2025, the review examined the Dialogue's relevance, effectiveness and contribution to migration governance across its participating states. This assessment provides evidence-based insights into the progress achieved and informs the continued implementation of the Dialogue, which is of particular relevance in view of the ongoing preparations for the Ministerial Conference 2027.

In preparation of the 5th Prague Process Ministerial Conference, which the upcoming Lithuanian EU Presidency will be hosting in Vilnius in January 2027, the Parties have engaged in intergovernmental consultations with a view to jointly elaborating the Prague Process Action Plan 2028-2032 that Ministers shall endorse to set the future mandate of the Process.

This publication draws on evolving trafficking trends across the Prague Process region and highlights evidence-based, victim-centred prevention approaches. It outlines practical measures to prevent exploitation, disrupt trafficking, and reduce risks of re-trafficking through long-term protection and reintegration, while promoting cross-sectoral responses integrated into migration, labour, social, and development policies.

Trafficking in human beings (THB) remains a dynamic and evolving crime closely linked to the phenomena of socio-economic vulnerability, migration, climate change, conflicts and technological developments. Despite the implementation of international and national anti-trafficking legal frameworks, new patterns of exploitation continue to emerge. 

The publication also provides two practical tools and a list of further readings that entail detailed information on different aspects of prevention of THB.