News

An integrated border management (IBM) strategy remains top priority for the Iraqi government, in tackling human trafficking and irregular migration, and strengthening border security. This was the focus of the discussions in Iraq between ICMPD Director General Michael Spindelegger and Dr Ali Al-Yasery, Director General of Iraq’s National Joint Planning Centre.

On February 20, the Inspire Project concluded its two-year implementation with a closing event in Brussels, organised by ICMPD. Seventy-two participants (online and in-person) were brought together to reflect on the journey and accomplishments, including representatives from the public and private sectors of Inspire's focus countries, national and international organisations, migration specialists, and the European Commission.

High-level delegates from Bangladesh, Iraq and Pakistan, along with Türkiye and Hungary, and the European Commission, are strengthening efforts for sustainable reintegration for returning migrants in the Silk Routes region. At the Thematic Working Group of Budapest Process countries last week, delegates and representatives called for reintegration efforts to be embedded in broader national development frameworks, and that these must target the structural and community-level drivers of migration that often reflect the challenges returnees face on their return.

Cabo Verde is situated about 570 kilometres off the coast of West Africa, and 1,500 km to Spain’s Canary Islands – the closest and first entry of potential migrants into Europe. That route along the Western Atlantic is treacherous. But given its geostrategic location between Africa, the Americas and Europe, Cabo Verde may have become a transit point for organised criminal groups and their activities and a transit route for migrants from West Africa en route to Europe.

Moldova’s IBM Council met on 27 May to review progress and kick off the 2026–2030 border management program. The new policy document will be developed with SCOP project support, aligning with EU standards for smarter and safer borders.

ICMPD Director General Michael Spindelegger met with Ireland’s Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration Jim O’Callaghan, and Minister of State for Migration Colm Brophy to discuss strengthening work together on the country’s migration priorities. On 14-15 May 2025, Mr Spindelegger and Deputy Director General Sedef Dearing were joined by senior ICMPD staff as part of their first official visit to Dublin, following Ireland’s accession as ICMPD Member State last year.

ICMPD hosted a workshop in Chișinău for Moldova’s Joint Risk Analysis Working Group, bringing together key national agencies to assess border security challenges, share institutional updates, and explore the integration of CIRAM into national practices. 

Only days after Russia’s full-scale military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the European Union activated the Temporary Protection Directive (TPD). It effectively provided more than four million displaced Ukrainians protection from the war; legal rights to stay, work, and benefit from social services; as well as support for integration. As its name suggests however, it was always meant to be temporary.

ICMPD convened government counterparts of its Migrant Resource Centres (MRCs) to advance cooperation and coordinated responses to emerging migration trends and challenges; including legal migration pathways, reducing irregular migration, and supporting the integration of returnees. At the meetings, the European Union called on participating governments to ensure long-term sustainability for their MRCs, in the service of migrants and returnees.

Former Austrian Minister for Women, Family, Integration and Media will take office at ICMPD as of 1 January 2026

As African youth become a vital force for progress, innovation, and sustainable development; the Rabat Process stands at the forefront of this strategic migration dialogue. On 13-14 May 2025, Nigeria and Spain co-chaired in Abuja a meeting on Youth, Education, and Innovation: Driving the Future of Migration.

Marking World Refugee Day and ten years since the so-called 2015 refugee crisis, ICMPD Director General Michael Spindelegger reflected on Europe’s migration journey — a decade marked by real progress towards refugee integration, yet strained by the continued inflow and growing political tensions.

Director-General Michael Spindelegger sits for an in-depth, reflective, and introspective interview on the situation in Europe 10 years since the start of what was dubbed the “migration crisis.”

ICMPD Director General Michael Spindelegger and Deputy Director General Sedef Dearing met with His Excellency Rachid Meddah, Director General of Migration Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and National Community Abroad of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria on 17 June 2025.

ICMPD facilitated the first session of Moldova’s IBM Working Group, launching the drafting process for the 2026–2030 IBM Programme and bringing together key agencies to shape the country’s future border management strategy.

ICMPD held a Train-the-Trainers session in Chișinău, piloting a new risk analysis curriculum and preparing future trainers from Moldova’s Border Police and partner institutions to strengthen national training capacity.

Over 60 officials from 16 countries and eight international organisations held the Budapest Process Thematic Meeting on Legal Pathways for Migration in Pakistan. The meeting specifically focused on strengthening the existing policies and pathways for legal migration and labour mobility, setting the strategic foundation for the dialogue's work in the coming years.

ICMPD Director General Michael Spindelegger met with Bulgarian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Innovation and Growth, His Excellency Tomislav Donchev on 24 June 2025.