Enhancing cooperation among the Prague Process states

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The Prague Process Policy Talk 'The EU’s New Pact on Migration and Asylum: What role for international cooperation?' with Ms. Maria-Myrto Kanellopoulou, cabinet member of Vice-President Margaritis Schinas, and Mr. Martijn Pluim, ICMPD Director for Migration Dialogues and Cooperation,  took place on 22 October 2020. It focused on the Pact’s external dimension and possible ways for its operationalisation.

Described by the Vice-President of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas, as the ‘most holistic attempt of the EC to establish a common EU migration and asylum system’, the EU’s new Pact on Migration and Asylum has attracted a great deal of attention. With internal solidarity being the most contested topic within the EU, the Pact’s external dimension represents the point of gravity for countries in the EU Neighbourhood, including the members of the Prague Process.

The New Pact is comprised of three main strands: the external dimension, robust management of the EU’s external borders and firm but fair internal rules, which ensure that solidarity is provided to the Member States under pressure. The Pact is designed to ensure that solidarity is effective in practice and that the challenges of migration are addressed comprehensively – be it outside or inside the EU.

Watch the Policy Talk in English

Watch the Policy Talk in Russian

Demographic trends in the Prague Process region have been stable over the last years with some countries consistently losing their population due to the natural decline and the negative net migration rate. Our new infographic depicts the key demographic changes across the Prague Process region in 2020 while showcasing the highest population increases and decreases, as well as demographic projections up to 2100. This visualisation was first published in the Prague Process Quarterly Review No 24 July-September 2020. 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.

We are happy to announce the release of the new issue of the Prague Process Quarterly Review covering various developments, events and activities of the third quarter of 2020.

In the EU, the third quarter of 2020 started with Germany taking over the EU Council Presidency and ended with the release of the EU’s New Pact on Migration and Asylum. In its role of acting Presidency, Germany joined the Strategic Group of the Prague Process and will host the upcoming Prague Process Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) on 16 November, which will take place remotely this year. Lithuania, the current Chair of the Process, attended the annual meeting of the “Inter-State consultation mechanisms on migration”. After two years, it will hand over its chairmanship to the Czech Republic during the upcoming SOM. The Prague Process Secretariat meanwhile continued its webinar series in line with the Contingency Plan, which the Prague Process Strategic Group recently decided to extend.  

The Mobility Partnership opens up new perspectives for potential cooperation between the signatory EU Member States and the Republic of Belarus. It brings an opportunity to develop a comprehensive migration policy, and to ensure the safe movement of migrants and their social and legal protection. The full potential of the Mobility Partnership is yet to be mobilized. It could provide incentives to improve labour migration legislation, further expand educational programs, pave the way to visa liberalisation or see the launch of new projects on migration.

The new policy brief "The EU-Belarus Mobility Partnership: The Way Forward" authored by Anastacia Bobrova analyses the implementation of the individual policy areas addressed by the Mobility Partnership and outlines a set of corresponding recommendations.

To preview and download the brief please use this link.

The sixth Prague Process webinar 'Migration and the Platform Economy' with Glen Hodgson, Founder and CEO of the Independent Think Tank Free Trade Europa, took place on 10 September 2020.

The webinar looked at the perspectives that the platform economy could 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. The webinar was based on the recently published policy brief "Migration and the Platform Economy" authored by Glen Hodgson.

The Prague Process Policy Talk ‘The EU’s New Pact on Migration and Asylum: What role for international cooperation?’ with Ms Maria-Myrto Kanellopoulou, member of the Cabinet of EC Vice-President for Promoting our European Way of Life, Margaritis Schinas, and Mr Martijn Pluim, Director for Migration Dialogues and Cooperation at ICMPD, will take place on 22 October 2020 at 10:30 CET.

This Policy Talk will focus on the Pact’s external dimension and possible ways for its operationalisation.

ICMPD Director General Mr. Michael Spindelegger and Ms. Gurlu Jabborzoda, Minister of of Labour, Migration and Employment of Population (MoLMEP) of Tajikistan have exchanged views on migration issues and signed a Memorandum on Understanding.

Irregular migration, including human trafficking, remains widespread in spite of all national and global efforts to counter it. In the post-Soviet space, the appearance of new independent states following the dissolution of the USSR has largely facilitated irregular migration. Various ethnic and territorial conflicts have accompanied the respective state formation processes, resulting in a continuous reforming of the migration authorities and attempts of international criminal groups to make use of the situation for their own purposes. The Islamic fundamentalism witnessed in some states has further aggravated the problem.

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