News

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 successfully hosted the 12th International Summer School on Migration on 29 June-4 July 2025 in Armenia.

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.

10 years of the VMC; 10 years since Europe’s migration crisis — ICMPD is hosting the 10th Vienna Migration Conference (VMC) on 21-22 October 2025. EU Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration Magnus Brunner and Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Šuica will deliver virtual keynote messages before several senior government figures take to the stage, including Jordan’s Minister of Interior Mazin Abdellah Hilal Al Farrayeh and Sweden’s Minister for Migration Johan Forsell.

The 4th EU Global Diaspora Facility’s Future Forum brought diaspora organisations together with public institutions and policymakers from four continents to share practices and explore how inclusive partnerships make diaspora contributions to development in countries of origin more effective and sustainable.

The Vienna Migration Conference (VMC) on 21-22 October 2025 hosted discussions on the role of international partnerships in managing sustainable migration, global efforts to attract skills and talent, ongoing progress and challenges in implementing EU reforms, and return and reintegration in diverse contexts. This year’s VMC gathered over 300 delegates from government, the private sector, academia and research, think tanks, international organisations, and civil society.

ICMPD is advancing the operational practices and legal safeguards for migrants and asylum seekers crossing Moldova’s borders. Working with the country’s Border Police and the Ombudsman Office, ICMPD hosted a workshop and consultations focused on human rights at the border, including entry and exit, data protection, and asylum safeguards.