News

ICMPD Director General, Michael Spindelegger, after meeting with senior officials, chiefly the Prime Minister of Lebanon, Tammam Salam today said that it is absolutely key to seek greater European and international support for Lebanon's efforts to address the consequences of the Syrian Crisis.

ICMPD Director General, Dr. Michael Spindelegger, reaffirmed the organization's commitment to supporting Lebanon in various fields of relevance to migration, particularly within the context of the on-going refugees crisis and its ramifications in Lebanon.

Mais de 70 representantes do governo (municipal, estadual e federal), da sociedade civil e da comunidade científica participaram, nos dias 27 e 28 de abril de 2016, do “Curso sobre migração, tráfico de pessoas e atendimento a pessoas vulneráveis à exploração”, realizado na Universidade Federal de Roraima, em Boa Vista. O curso insere-se no âmbito do projeto MT Brasil, financiado pela União Europeia, o Ministério da Justiça do Brasil (MJ), o Ministério do Trabalho e Previdência Social do Brasil (MTPS) e o Escritório Federal para Migrações da Suíça, e implementado pelo Centro Internacional para o Desenvolvimento de Políticas Migratórias (ICMPD).

On 29 April, ICMPD and the American Business Council organised the virtual round table “Investment opportunities in Nigeria”. The round table was hosted by ICMPD Director General Michael Spindelegger.

More than 70 representatives of Brazilian local, state and federal governments, civil society and the scientific community participated in the "training on migration, trafficking in human beings and assistance to people vulnerable to exploitation" held at the Federal University of Roraima (UFRR), Boa Vista on 27 and 28 April.

Six months after the Valletta Summit of Migration there are concerns that the Mediterranean could again be the epicentre of irregular migration-flows. With this in mind, the Foreign Minister of Malta, George Vella, and the Director General of ICMPD (International Center for Migration Policy Development), Michael Spindelegger, opened the organisation’s “Coordination and Cooperation Center for Migration in the Mediterranean” in Valetta.

Today the European Union Delegation to Jordan and the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) launches the EUR 2.5 million project “Support to the Mobility Partnership between the European Union and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (JEMPAS)’’. The three-year project, funded by the EU and implemented by ICMPD, will focus on two key areas: Engagement with Jordanian expatriates abroad and preventing trafficking in human beings.

Sessions on future perspectives of European migration policy under way

On 27th March the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) released the 2017 Vienna Migration Conference report. The Vienna Migration Conference (VMC) is ICMPD’s flagship event to discuss critical migration issues and to drive policy development across Member States. The 2017 VMC was held at the Austrian Academy of Sciences on 23–24 October. The publication summarises discussions, findings and conclusions presented at the VMC, and outlines a couple of recommendations to strengthen migration partnerships as frameworks for “safe, orderly and regular migration”.

The number of member states of the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) has increased by one as of May 2018. Türkiye has become the 17th state to join ICMPD, an international migration policy organisation founded 25 years ago with Headquarters in Vienna, Austria. ICMPD already enjoys long-lasting cooperation with Türkiye and runs several projects and activities from its office in Ankara. 

ICMPD presents five Migration Partnership Priorities

On the 22 March – 1 April 2021, ICMPD facilitated cooperation between the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and Iraq Border Management authorities through a joint initiative to develop the operational and training expertise on document security and identity. The cooperation also promoted the role of local actors in developing intra-regional solutions to capacity development in the area of border management.

With Lithuania increasingly looking to international talent to drive growth, the TALENTAS project helped the government work towards its goal of attracting and retaining more international students, highly skilled migrants, and Lithuanians living abroad.

On 31 March-1 April 2021, ICMPD organised a two-day workshop for the experts of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine (SBGS) aimed at identifying the most relevant concepts, approaches and methodologies for SBGS Human Resources Management Strategy development.

Michael Spindelegger, Director General of ICMPD, about the tremendous impact that COVID-19 has had on global migration, about how ICMPD has had to adapt and about how ICMPD can help to build a well-functioning European asylum system.

Speaking about the increasing numbers of people identified as victims of modern slavery and human trafficking in the UK, the British National Crime Agency (NCA)’s Vulnerabilities Director Will Kerr stated that “the more we look, the more we find" (BBC News, “Modern Slavery and trafficking ‘in every UK town and city’”, 10 August 2017). This statement highlights both the extent of the problem and the limitations of relying on law enforcement alone to combat it. 

By 1 July, free movement should once again be a reality within the EU’s passport-free zone, more or less. The Union is re-opening the single market just in time to secure this year’s agricultural production and the tourist season. The big question now is whether and how to re-open to the rest of the world.

On September 19th an ICMPD delegation led by DG Michael Spindelegger took part in the UN high-level summit to address large movements of refugees and migrants.

Speech held by Martijn Pluim, ICMPD Director of Eastern Dimension, on 25 July 2016 on the occasion of Vienna Human Trafficking Event at the UNODC.

While the Libyan conflict is just a mere example of the many crises affecting the world, it sheds the light on the suffering and difficulties thousands of migrants live when caught in countries in crisis.

The International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) presented the new EU-funded project "Support to the Implementation of the Mobility Partnership with Azerbaijan (MOBILAZE)" in Baku at the kick-off and coordination meeting of the project.

The fifth in a series of workshops on the migration and development nexus, organised by ICMPD for the Directorate General of Migration Management, took place in Istanbul on 31 March – 1 April.

On 19 April, ICMPD presented the new EU-funded project "Support to Migration and Border Management in Armenia" (MIBMA) in Yerevan at the official launch of the project.

Last week, ICMPD’s Director General Michael Spindelegger was on mission to Lebanon, meeting with the Ministers of Labour, of Social Affaires and of Interior as well as the Chief of the General Direcorate of the Security General (DGSG).

The Common European Asylum System is in the process of being reformed. What about the system needs to change and can an agreement of the EU Member States be expected? A review of the Commission’s new policy proposal.