Earlier this year an Eritrean was convicted to serve 20 years in prison for smuggling migrants into the Netherlands, while his accomplice was extradited from the United Arab Emirates to face criminal charges in a Dutch court. Along with co-conspirators, they were charged with inflicting abuse and exploiting migrants in the Mediterranean, before smuggling them across treacherous waters into Europe.
About the initiative
The Migration Partnership Facility (MPF) is an EU-funded initiative supporting the external dimension of EU migration policy. Launched in January 2016, the MPF supports dialogue and cooperation on migration and mobility between EU Member States and priority partner countries outside the EU.
Countries
Albania / Armenia / Austria / Azerbaijan / Bangladesh / Belarus / Belgium / Bosnia and Herzegovina / Bulgaria / Cabo Verde / Colombia / Croatia / Cyprus / Czech Republic / Denmark / Egypt / Estonia / Ethiopia / Finland / France / Gambia / Georgia / Germany / Ghana / Greece / Hungary / India / Iraq / Ireland / Italy / Jordan / Kenya / Kosovo* / Latvia / Lebanon / Libya / Lithuania / Luxembourg / Mali / Malta / Mauritania / Moldova (Republic of) / Montenegro / Morocco / Netherlands / Nigeria / North Macedonia / Pakistan / Poland / Portugal / Romania / Senegal / Serbia / Slovakia / Slovenia / Spain / Sweden / Tunisia / Türkiye / Ukraine
Status
Ongoing
Duty Stations
Brussels, Belgium
Duration
01.01.2015
to
31.12.2027
Donors
The MPF is funded from the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF), the Internal Security Fund (ISF) and the Border Management and Visa Instrument (BMVI) managed by the European Commission Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs (DG HOME).
Summary
The Migration Partnership Facility (MPF) supports the dialogue and cooperation on migration and mobility between EU Member States and priority partner countries through four components: Grants, Technical Assistance and Support, Dialogue and Knowledge and Communication.
Grants
Since its launch, the MPF has funded over 60 projects involving a majority of European Member States (EU MS) with key partner countries. The MPF operates mainly through grants aligned with priorities outlined in its Calls for Proposals. These cover two main thematic areas:
- Support to the EU's migration priorities with partner countries
- Support to dialogue and cooperation on Legal and Labour Migration (i.e., the EU's Talent Partnerships)
Geographically, the MPF covers the Western Balkans and Türkiye, Eastern Partnership countries, the Southern Neighbourhood, the Silk Route countries, and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Technical Assistance and Support
In its latest phase, the MPF introduced a Technical Assistance and Support (TAS) component, allowing EU Member States to request technical assistance from ICMPD for specific tasks. Through this component the European Commission may request for ICMPD to respond to emerging priorities and strategic interests.
Dialogue
MPF facilitates migration dialogues between European Member States and Western Balkans, the Middle East, Central Asia, Silk Routes and South Asia by supporting the Prague Process, with a primary focus on Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries, and the Budapest Process, with a primary focus on the Silk Routes region.
Knowledge Management and Communication
The MPF is an information hub for disseminating knowledge and harnessing insights from the grant projects that it funds. MPF compiles lessons learned, prepares policy briefs or other analytical documents and identifies the most effective means of disseminating the information, all the while creating an enabling environment to discuss topics. This approach fosters knowledge exchange and policy-oriented learning and transfer, informing the design of future actions supported by the MPF or other initiatives that shape EU migration policy and practice change.