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European Union and international partners, government representatives, civil society organisations, gathered in Dushanbe in December for a high-level briefing to strengthen long-term reintegration support systems for returning migrants in Tajikistan. Discussions centred on the multifaceted reintegration landscape in Tajikistan, highlighting the need for more coherent, predictable, and sustainable support for returning Tajik nationals.

In 2025, EU Member States recorded a 26% decrease in irregular arrivals and a 21% decrease in asylum applications. It is the first marked decline in these figures in many years, and the International Centre for Migration Policy Development’s (ICMPD) Migration Outlook report, released today, says that this should provide momentum to the EU’s Asylum and Migration Pact implementation.

ICMPD Director General Susanne Raab met with Poland’s Secretary of State, Mr Czesław Mroczek, on 27 January 2026 in Warsaw. The meetings focused on current national and regional migration dynamics, including external EU border and security-linked pressures; the situation of Ukrainians in Poland; and ways to elevate ICMPD–Poland cooperation. This was also Ms Raab’s first visit to an ICMPD Member State, since assuming office as new Director General this month. 

Switzerland takes on the 2026 Chairmanship of the Rabat Process, with a commitment to fostering constructive dialogue among countries of origin, transit, and destination, while actively engaging civil society, non-governmental and international organisations, the private sector, and youth. The handover of the Chairmanship from Nigeria took place at the Senior Officials Meeting in Abuja on 28-29 January 2026.

On 6 February 2026, ICMPD supported a session of Moldova’s National Joint Risk Analysis Working Group in Chisinau, bringing together the l​aw enforcement community to review activities carried out in 2025 and to plan analytical priorities for 2026.

Director General Susanne Raab met with Swedish Minister for Migration HE Johan Forssell in Stockholm in January, capping Sweden’s successful 2025 Chairmanship of ICMPD’s Steering Group. They discussed the ongoing cooperation along migration routes and with partner countries, return and reintegration, and the EU Pact for Migration and Asylum. As the Director General’s first visit to Sweden, the mission also sets the foundation for continued high-level dialogue and future collaboration aligned with ICMPD’s Strategy 2030.

Indian Minister of External Affairs Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, European Commission Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen, and ICMPD Director General Susanne Raab launched the European Legal Gateway Office in India on 18 February 2026.

ICMPD is supporting the European Union in the European Legal Gateway Office in India. The new project was launched yesterday to facilitate the mobility of Indian ICT professionals, students, and researchers to the EU; strengthen the India-EU cooperation; and as well as to enable economic benefits for both India and Europe. Indian Minister of External Affairs Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and European Commission Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen led the launch, with ICMPD Director General Susanne Raab.

The 2026 Café Kyiv opened on Tuesday with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz calling for continued support for Ukraine. “We have supported Ukraine financially, politically, and also militarily. We have been doing so for four years, and we will continue to do so. [We need] peace in Europe that is not dictated to Ukrainians and Europeans, but one that we shape together,” Chancellor Merz said.

From 9–13 February in Abidjan, EU-MIDCAP launched its first onsite activity in Côte d’Ivoire in partnership with the National Committee Against Trafficking in Persons (CNLTP). The five-day consultation supported the review of the 2022–2025 anti-trafficking strategy and shaped the 2026–2030 framework to combat trafficking and migrant smuggling.

ICMPD Director General Susanne Raab welcomed Ambassadors and senior members of the diplomatic corps in Vienna, representing countries of origin and countries along migration routes towards Europe with which ICMPD closely cooperates. Amidst the current conflict in the Middle East, Ms Raab expressed the organisation’s commitment to strong partnerships and the crucial role of diplomacy in conflict resolution, and international cooperation on migration governance.

The first fully operational Unity Hub in the European Union opened this week in the Czech Republic. Opened on 2 March 2026, the Ukrainian Consultation and Community Centre in Prague (UCCC) will serve as a unique model for EU states planning for establishing such facilities in support of Ukrainians and Ukrainian state authorities.

ICMPD facilitated a workshop for Moldova’s Border Police regional directorates, to strengthen the practical application of human rights principles in daily border management

ICMPD welcomed Ukrainian diaspora organisations to the newly opened Ukrainian Community and Consultations Centre (UCCC) in Prague, the first fully operational Unity Hub in the European Union. 

ICMPD Director General Susanne Raab welcomed Kari Johnstone, Special Representative for Combatting Human Trafficking for the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and Deputy Co-ordinator Jean-Benoit Manhes.

ICMPD Deputy Director General and Director of Migration Dialogues and Cooperation Sedef Dearing met with officials from Moldova’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Internal Affairs, General Inspectorate of Border Police, Ombudsman Office, the European Union Delegation to Moldova, Embassy of Ukraine, and the Diaspora Relations Bureau at the State Chancellery. Representing Director General Susanne Raab, Ms Dearing discussed last week ICMPD’s ongoing support and future cooperation for Moldova’s migration governance efforts, EU accession preparations, security challenges, border management, and diaspora engagement.

On 26 March, border-management authorities from Moldova and Ukraine convened at the Palanca–Maiaki-Udobnoe Border Crossing Point for a one‑day meeting of Moldova’s National Joint Risk Analysis Working Group. 

The Prague Process Training Academy is entering a new phase by launching the E-learning Platform.

The platform is meant to serve the Prague Process states and partners with educational material for self-paced independent remote learning on migration and asylum. In times when in-person learning is reduced, e-learning tools become a safe and effective alternative to face-to-face classroom settings offering a convenient way for busy professionals to gain, enrich or refresh knowledge on migration matters.

The platform currently hosts three online courses on labour migration, identification and profiling, and integrated border management (IBM). The first two courses feature a series of short videos, quizzes and further readings. Meanwhile, the IBM course comprises rich written material with quizzes. All courses are available in English and Russian and can be repeated multiple times and adjusted to individual schedules without the risk to lose progress. Upon completing a course, successful participants receive a certificate of completion.

In order to access courses, users should register on the platform and enrol in the courses of their choice. The registration process is simple and straightforward, and the enrolment is done in one click. You are invited to watch a short explainer video to get around.

An Ivorian delegation carried out a study visit to Belgium from 30 March to 3 April 2026 under the European Union Migration and Displacement Capacity Assistance Project (EU-MIDCAP). The visit facilitated exchanges between Ivorian and Belgian institutions on trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling, contributing to the development of Côte d’Ivoire’s upcoming national strategy.

Sweden and Ukraine signed a joint declaration confirming their cooperation on the opening of a Unity Hub for Ukrainians in Stockholm in summer 2026. The signing on 16 April 2026 marked an important step in strengthening information support for displaced Ukrainians in the EU, and enhancing ties with Ukraine; and in the broader EU-Ukraine cooperation in the migration sphere.

The EU-funded Migration Partnership Facility (MPF) is marking its 10^th anniversary with a review of a successful decade supporting migration initiatives between EU Member States and non-EU partner countries. Since its launch in 2016, the MPF has enabled close to a hundred different projects across more than 50 countries; on issues ranging from addressing irregular migration and human trafficking, to enhancing police cooperation and security, and promoting legal channels for labour mobility.

Funded by the European Union (EU) and implemented by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), the MMD Grant Facility is an initiative to support and engage Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in the dialogue on migration governance between African and European countries. 

The Republic of Poland assumes the Chairmanship of the ICMPD Steering Group 2026. On 4 March 2026, Mr Paweł Dąbrowski, Plenipotentiary of the Polish Ministry of the Interior and Administration for International Cooperation, accepted the handover of the Chairmanship from Ms Eva Åkerman Börje, Director of the International Migration Department of Sweden’s Ministry of Justice; joined by ICMPD Director General Susanne Raab.

ICMPD, in partnership with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA), organised a two-day State Engagement Programme in Guwahati, Assam on 12-13 February 2026. Titled Linking India-EU Migration Opportunities and the Northeast Corridor, the dialogue strengthens cooperation on safe, orderly, and regular migration and mobility between India and the European Union and its Member States.

In an increasingly complex global environment, joint responsibility for border governance must integrate security, mobility, sovereignty and adherence to international obligations. At the same time, effectiveness and respect for fundamental rights must go hand in hand in a consistent and credible way. This was the key message of Malin Frankenhaeuser, Director of Policy, Research and Strategy at ICMPD, at a keynote address to this year’s World Border Security Congress on 14-16 April 2026 in Vienna.