Enhancing cooperation among the Prague Process states

News

In the new ICMPD Policy Insights Commentary published on 8 March 2022, Justyna Segeš Frelak and Caitlin Katsiaficas, policy analysts at ICMPD, addressed the question of current and future integration of Ukrainians fleeing the war. The Commentary is also available in Russian and Ukrainian languages.

Over 2 million people have fled across Ukraine’s borders following Russia’s invasion on 24 February. Right now, attention is understandably focused on their entry and reception. But soon the EU will need to consider how to best help these newcomers settle in. The activation of the Temporary Protection Directive gives (mainly) Ukrainians the right to access key integration-related services and employment. National administrations now face an enormous challenge to make such access a reality.

On Thursday, 3 March 2022, an Extraordinary Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Council meeting voted on a proposal by the European Commission to activate the EU’s Temporary Protection Directive for the first time for people fleeing the war in Ukraine. 

In the new ICMPD Policy Insights Commentary published on 2 March 2022, Martin Wagner, a senior policy adviser at ICMPD, analyzed the Temporary Protection Directive and what it means for people. The Commentary is also available in Russian and Ukrainian languages.

The EU is witnessing an influx of refugees from Ukraine on a far greater scale than in 2015-2016. What will be the status of the new arrivals; what can be done for non-Ukrainians trying to escape the conflict; and what does it mean for EU asylum policy in the medium term? These and other questions are addressed in the new ICMPD Expert Voice prepared by Hugo Brady, a senior strategic adviser at ICMPD. The Expert Voice was published on 28 Fenruary 2022. It is also available in Russian and Ukrainian languages.

ICMPD’s Migration Outlook on the situation in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) presents a brief analysis of migration and policy trends in the region and provides an outlook on developments and  key issues to watch out for in 2022. The paper covers developments in the twelve EECA countries according to ICMPD’s geographic division: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.

This Outlook highlights the most important and relevant trends in EECA without intending to cover all migration-related developments. The main goal of this publication is, therefore, to provide expert perspectives on how migration might evolve across the region in 2022, based on ICMPD’s regional office experience. In this regard, while migration trends in the region are largely impacted by geopolitical developments and challenges, and often triggered by geopolitical tensions and conflicts in the region and its surrounding areas, this paper focuses only on migration-related outlook for 2022.

Six Background Notes were established to inform the intergovernmental consultations held in summer 2021. The consultations served the update of the Prague Process Action Plan and its six thematic areas. The fourth Ministerial Conference in October 2022 shall endorse a new Action Plan, which shall frame the Prague Process cooperation throughout 2023-2027. 

The Background Notes are available for download in the Repository:

ICMPD and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) started a two-year pilot initiative to contribute to the development of skills and employment opportunities in partner and EU countries through migration and mobility-based skills partnerships that benefit migrants, countries of origin and destination. The INSPIRE project (December 2021-November 2023) constitute BMZ and ICMPD’s joint response to the lack of a dedicated platform for dialogue on skills partnerships designed to engage and raise awareness of available partnership instruments as well as offer the chance to harness the development potential of the newly launched Talent Partnerships.  

As a cross-regional Private Sector Engagement initiative, INSPIRE is set to develop and promote partnership schemes between EU Member States and partner countries from the Eastern Partnership region, Western Balkans and Africa. 

The project holds at its main focus partnerships that build, further strengthen and match the green and digital skills needed by partner countries, Europe and their private sector actors in target industries through mobility and migration. Concretely, the INSPIRE project will bring together competent national authorities, partner countries’ Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), European SMEs, industry groups, and financial institutions from the EU and the target countries into a dialogue on skills partnerships.

Inspire will be officially launched in the presence of key stakeholders in Vienna on 1 March 2022.

More information about the project can be found here and here.

The Prague Process Policy Talk: ‘Labour Mobility inside the EU and Beyond: Introducing the European Labour Authority’, with Ms Slavka Eley, Head of Governance and Coordination at the European Labour Authority (ELA), and Mr Martin Hofmann, ICMPD Principal Advisor, is taking place on 27 January 2022 at 10:30 CET.

After an introduction of the role and mandate of the European Labour Authority, its priorities for 2021-2022 and operational activities, the two distinguished panellists will jointly assess some broader trends in European labour markets, their imbalances, sector-specific challenges and recurring problems. The focus will be on the implications of all this for labour mobility within the EU and beyond. In how far could enhanced intra-EU mobility, a targeted upskilling effort and the possible contribution of third-country nationals contribute to tackling existing and forthcoming skills shortages? What about the situation of particular mobile groups, such as posted, seasonal, tele or care workers, commuting across borders? The Policy Talk shall also look at the operational aspects of ELA’s and ICMPD’s work. 

This event is targeting the migration authorities, Ministries of Labour and Social Affairs, as well as the public employment services of the Prague Process states.

Please register to the event through the link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_dOU0BwA_SBSBMft_EswnkA. You will receive the link to the virtual room, as soon as your registration is approved.

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