News

The Prague Process Migration Observatory and ICMPD's Regional Coordination Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) regularly monitor and collect the most recent news on a variety of migration-related topics from the EECA region. Herewith, we present you the latest edition of the MEDIA DIGEST covering news released in July 2020.

All previous editions of the Media Digest can be accessed here. New Digest issues are being published at the beginning of each month featuring news items of the previous month. Each issue provides readers with a concise overview of the main migration developments in the region. All news in the digest is grouped by country and category. To open a news item click on the link in the second column, that will take you to the original source. To navigate across the issues please 1) click on the issue you are interested in (e.g. July 2020); 2) click on "search tools" button at the top and use country/category filters to see the news most relevant to you. To remove all filters click "Clear" at the top.

Should you wish to share any relevant news with the Prague Process readers, please reach out to the Secretariat at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

We gladly present you the infographic that features all remote Prague Process activities organised in March-July 2020 in line with the adopted Contingency Plans in view of coronavirus pandemic. It entails in-built links to access the respective publications and video recordings. Please preview and download the infographic in English or in Russian.

Our vast Repository contains all recent and older Publications, video-recordings of the webinars and interviews with state officials and academic experts, studies, manuals, Migration Profiles and more.

The 7^th Prague Process webinar ‘EU Framework for Legal Migration: Lessons learned and main challenges’ with Monica Alfaro from Directorate General for Migration and Home Affairs of the European Commission will take place on 24 September 2020 at 10:30 CET.

The webinar will provide an overview on the EU Directives on legal migration, the results of the recent Fitness check on the respective EU framework and resulting lessons learned. The webinar will further address the main challenges faced at EU level in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The sixth Prague Process webinar 'Migration and the Platform Economy' with Glen Hodgson, Founder and CEO of the Independent Think Tank Free Trade Europa, will take place on 10 September 2020 at 10:30 AM CET.

The webinar will look at the perspectives that the platform economy can provide to migrants. Not only can it help in turning black jobs white and integrating migrants into host country labour forces but also in addressing the respective labour market demand. Many researchers agree that the majority of jobs will be freelance and plat­form-based within a few years. Appropriate action shall, therefore, ensure that third-country nationals are not locked in a tech­nology-facilitated parallel economy, which leads to unstable incomes, limited training and social isolation. Read more on this topic in the recent brief "Migration and the Platform Economy" authored by Glen Hodgson ahead of the webinar.

A great opportunity for journalists, bloggers and other media content creators from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine interested in migration topics. ICMPD is offering an online training on legal, labour and other migration issues, facilitated by ICMPD and world-renowned media and migration experts. The training cycle will take place from October until November 2020.

Much is said and written about the platform economy with many reports and studies highlighting that the majority of jobs will be freelance and plat­form-based within a few years. In the new Policy Brief “Migration and the Platform Economy”, Glen Hodgson looks at what perspectives the platform economy can provide to migrants. Third-country nationals cannot get locked in a tech­nology-facilitated parallel economy which leads to unstable incomes, limited training and social isolation. The COVID-19 crisis has led to rising unemploy­ment and the recovery is likely to be characterised by increased labour market flexibility. Significant demand remains in some sectors - for both low and high-skilled workers - and the platform economy can help in turning black jobs white and integrating migrants into host country labour forces. Work permits should be granted to migrants where jobs are available, while efforts should be made by all stakeholders to build trust in the platform economy through collaboration and the establishment of a Code of Conduct.

To preview and download the brief please use this link.

The 5th Prague Process webinar ‘Maximizing labour migration outcomes in the Prague Process corridors: Practices on how to benchmark countries of destination in June 2020’ with Andrea Salvini, Independent Advisor on Labour Migration, took place on 2 July 2020.

The webinar helped participants to familiarize with diagnostic tools to compare countries of destinations, especially focusing on low- and medium-skills sectoral shortages. The methods to assess skills shortages were touched upon with in-migration systems, integration prospects, working and living conditions, as well as wages analysed so as to maximize remittances gains. Government officials from both countries of origin and of destination had the opportunity to discuss trade-offs between circular and long-term migration policy options, as well as how to adapt TVET components of both pre-departure and post-arrival services to strategic needs. The webinar also shed light on some implications brought about by the COVID19 crisis and policy responses had been witnessed by June 2020.

The webinar recording is available in two formats: the first contains the presentation of Andrea Salvini only while the second one represents the full-length video recording of the webinar, entailing also the Q&A session.

To watch the shorter version, please go here

To watch the full-length video, please go here

The 4th Prague Process webinar ‘Assessing the EU’s External Migration Policy’ with Kristof Tamas, Director of the Stockholm-based Migration Studies Delegation (Delmi), took place on 18 June 2020.

Mr Tamas provided his assessment of the EU’s External Migration Policy, while also reflecting upon the recent impacts of the coronavirus in this area. The webinar looked at how the EU’s external cooperation on migration had revolved around the Global Approach to Migration (and Mobility) since 2005 (2011) and the Migration Partnership Framework under the European Agenda on Migration since 2016. It focused in particular on the role of Migration Dialogues in the process of finding common ground with third countries and proposed new ways to accommodate the interests of partner countries within this cooperation framework. The webinar was based on the findings of the policy brief with the same title ‘Assessing the EU’s External Migration Policy’ authored by Kristof.

The webinar recording is available in two formats: the first contains the presentation of Kristof Tamas only while the second one represents the full-length video recording of the webinar, entailing also the Q&A session.

To watch the shorter version, please go here

To watch the full-length video, please go here

The new April-June 2020 issue of the Prague Process Quarterly Review is now available for download in English and Russian.

Already at the time of publishing the previous issue of the Quarterly Review, it was clear that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic would affect all thematic areas of the Prague Process. A few months later, we can only confirm this assumption. Mobility has halted, many labour migrants and regular travellers are stuck in limbo, remittances have dropped, asylum seekers could not file applications, and return became practically impossible. The focus on the negative trends has dominated the public and political discourse over the past months. For this reason, people get increasingly worried about the future. All current events and political strategies are observed through the coronavirus lens.

Yet, the virus also unveiled some positive developments. Many countries regularised swiftly the stay of migrants and tourists who could not leave because of the imposed travel restrictions. Some went a step further and almost equated the rights of stranded migrants with those of their citizens to ensure the disbursement of social benefits. Germany, for instance, suddenly allowed short-term migrants to seek employment. Moreover, a wave of civil initiatives helping migrants with shelter and food has appeared. The pandemic also forced states to rethink the role of labour migrants in various vital occupations, as they proved critical for the national economy and health systems.

These past few months have also been extraordinary for the Prague Process Secretariat. We successfully launched the Prague Process Webinar series and organised the first online training. These online events gathered many actors who would otherwise not have been able to participate in the usual face-to-face meetings. These various remote activities have hopefully provided a useful tool for state officials to remain informed and keep up with their daily work.

This issue will provide you with a short overview of the activities implemented over the past three months, as well as wider regional developments. It also features a few reading recommendations, including the latest Policy briefs of the Prague Process Migration Observatory. 

To see all issues please go to the section "Quarterly Review" under News & Events.

The third Prague Process webinar 'The Impact of COVID-19 on Ukrainian Labour Migrants in the EU' with Ruslan Minich and Pavlo Kravchuk took place on 28 May 2020.

The webinar reflected upon the situation of Ukrainian labour migrants, who constitute the largest group of migrant workers in Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary and Italy, in particular, and inside the EU as a whole. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, labour migrants lose their jobs and livelihood, overstay their visas, residence and work permits, whilst also encountering various challenges in their attempts to return home. Meanwhile, the host countries suffer from the lack of migrant farmworkers who are essential for the food supply chains. Pavlo and Ruslan outlined which of the migration policy measures introduced in response to COVID-19 have worked and which have not, proposing some practical solutions that could inspire other countries as well.

The webinar recording is available in two formats: the first only contains the presentation of Ruslan Minich and Pavlo Kravchuk, the second one represents the full-length video recording of the webinar, entailing also the Q&A session.

To watch the shorter version, please go here

To watch the full-length video, please go here