News

After the 59 months of implementation, which is almost five years, the EU-funded project “Support to the Implementation of the Prague Process Action Plan 2012 – 2016”, known rather as the “Prague Process Targeted Initiative” or just “PP TI” was closed during the Closing Ceremony organised by the leading state of the project – Poland – at the Polish Permanent Representation to the EU in Brussels on 13 June 2017.  The Ceremony was organised with the purpose to present the numerous achievements and results of the project to diplomatic representations of the 50 countries involved in the Prague Process (all EU MS, Schengen Area, Eastern Partnership, Central Asia, Western Balkans, Russia and Turkey), to EU institutions as well as international organisations present in Brussels.

The 3-day Training Workshop gathered 33 participants from 22 Prague Process states as well as EASO, UNHCR, ICMPD and the Prague Process Secretariat. The thematic focus on irregular migration resulted from the priorities previously indicated by the Prague Process participating states. The agenda was based on the results achieved under the Pilot Projects implemented in 2012 – 2016. As set out in the Bratislava Ministerial Declaration of 2016, these results shall be further mobilised within the envisaged Training Academy.

The PP TI Study Visit took place on 10-12 April 2017, gathering representatives of 18 participating states in Vienna. During the introductory session at ICMPD, participants expressed their satisfaction with the opportunity to visit and get to know the national policies and practices of Austria - an important destination and transit country with regards to both the Balkan and Mediterranean migration routes.

The new issue of the Prague Process Quarterly Review, that covers the period July - December 2016, gives an overview of several Senior Officials' Meetings that framed the key event of 2016 - the 3rd Prague Process Ministerial Conference, presents reflections from the Expert missions to the Central Asian Republics of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan and the Closing Workshop of Objective 2, provides an outline of the Handbook on Identification of Irregular Migrants, and, finally, presents the last decade's achievements of the State Migration Service of the Republic of Azerbaijan celebrating its 10th anniversary.  The new issue of the Quarterly Review is available for download in English and in Russian. To see all issues please go to the section "Quarterly Review" under News & Events.

The Prague Process Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM), constituting the final SOM within the implementation of the Prague Process Targeted Initiative (PP TI), took place in Vilnius on 24-25 November 2016, gathering 46 participants from 25 states, the European Commission Directorate General for Home Affairs (DG Home), as well as ICMPD and UNHCR. This SOM marked the opening to the future cooperation as requested by the Bratislava Ministerial Declaration, endorsed by the 3rd Prague Process Ministerial Conference, which Slovakia hosted on 19-20 September 2016, and aimed at proposing a future vision and concrete work plan for this period while also endorsing all results achieved so far.

On 25 October 2016, a Closing Workshop of the Prague Process Objective 2 - Knowledge Base on migration took place in Prague, Czech Republic. A 1-day Workshop gathered representatives of 16 participating states, EUROMED Migration IV, UNHCR, and ICMPD in its capacity of the Prague Process Secretariat. The meeting was dedicated to the discussion of the current state of the Prague Process Knowledge base on migration as well as its future in a new format, namely the Training and Analytical Centre (TAC) composed of a Migration Observatory and a Training Academy.

The Prague Process Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM), constituting the fourth preparatory SOM for the 3rd Ministerial Conference, took place in Bratislava on 19 September 2016, gathering 79 participants from 38 states, the European Commission Directorate General for Home Affairs (DG Home), the Council of the European Union, European External Action Service (EEAS), Frontex, as well as ICMPD and UNHCR.

The 10th issue of the Prague Process Quarterly Review, which covers the period April - June 2016,  reports on the Final Seminar of the Pilot Project 7 on Asylum and International Protection, presents the main outcomes of the Cracow Senior Officials' Meeting, provides with an overview of the completed Pilot Projects 5 to 7, and shortly introduces the migration situation and the key statistics of the Republics of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, more on which our readers can find from the published Migration Profiles Light. The new issue of the Quarterly Review, as well as all previous issues, is available for download in English and in Russian. To see all issues please go to the section "Quarterly Review" under News & Events.

The third Prague Process Ministerial Conference, held by the Slovak Presidency on 20 of September in Bratislava, resulted in the adoption of the Joint Declaration, which gave a mandate to the Process for the years 2017 - 2021.

The Final Joint Declaration as endorsed by the Heads of the Prague Process participating states is now available for download in English and in Russian.

On 20 September the third Prague Process Ministerial Conference was held in Bratislava under the Slovak Presidency of the Council of the EU. Gathered at the Conference Ministers, Chairmen of migration services and high level officials reassured their commitment to the Process, addressed the most pressing migration issues and have moved towards decisions which have the strength to positively shape tomorrow's migration policies.