Europe

Many countries are experiencing humanitarian migration on an unprecedented scale. Efforts towards the coherent, long-term and comprehensive strategies that maximize the benefits of migration must be continued. The key to maximizing the benefits of immigration is the successful integration of migrants into their host societies.

To this end, the Greek Fund for the Integration of non-EU immigrants (EIF) has sought to promote European cooperation, with the objective of granting equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities for all.

IOM also conducts research projects to improve knowledge for developing new integration policies or programmes. In Portugal, for example, previous IOM-supported research projects have included a 2006 study of the different levels of socio-economic integration of immigrants across different geographical areas (regions, and major metropolitan areas). The study was part of a wider EU-financed initiative which included research projects in Italy, France, Spain and the UK.

As part of the European Agenda on Migration, the European Union has launched the European Trust Fund for Africa. Through funding specific projects linked to the creation of employment opportunities, the enhancement of food and nutrition security or the improvement of migration management, the objective of the Fund is to foster stability along the migration route to Europe and work with African partners.

The project seeks to improve access and appropriateness of health care services, health promotion and prevention for migrants. The EQUI HEALTH project also supports the development of a harmonized EU approach for access to and appropriate provision of healthcare for migrants and ethnic minorities. It works towards the reduction of health inequalities faced by migrants, Roma and other vulnerable ethnic minority groups.

In his report to the 2014 International Labour Conference, the ILO Director-General called for an ILO Agenda for Fair Migration and emphasised the growing concern about abusive and fraudulent recruitment practices affecting migrant workers.

In response to those challenges, in 2014 the ILO launched a global “Fair Recruitment Initiative” to:

• help prevent human trafficking and forced labour

The DEED project aims to increase opportunities for Kosovars living abroad to participate in the economic development of Kosovo by facilitating job and enterprise creation through investment and channelling of remittances away from pure consumption, in particular by: i) increasing literacy for financial services of remittance-receiving households and increase access to finance in a gender-sensitive manner; ii) identifying and introducing models and mechanisms that facilitate migrants’ investments and savings in Kosovo; iii) offering technical support for Kosovo authorities in order to draft

The ICMPD Asylum Programme for ICMPD Member States provides a forum for asylum experts and policy makers of ICMPD Member States to exchange views on current challenges in the area of asylum. The exchange of ICMPD Member States on asylum-related 'hot issues' are mainly being facilitated in the framework of round table discussions and/or expert hearings. Following a consultation process with and based on the priorities of ICMPD’s Member States the Programme so far addressed the following topics:

In 2010, the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States and the European Union (EU) agreed on a Joint Declaration on Migration and Development that was endorsed by the ACP-EU Council in June 2010. In this declaration, the parties committed to strengthen and deepen cooperation in the area of migration, in particular based on three pillars:

The Government of the Netherlands will lead the new and enlarged EU Regional Development and Protection Program (RDPP) in the Horn of Africa. The EU consortium of partners includes the European Commission, the European External Action Service, EU member states (Czech Republic, France, Greece, Italy, Luxemburg, Malta and the UK) and associated states (Norway, Switzerland).

Clandestino is an interdisciplinary project aiming to support policy makers in designing and implementing appropriate policies regarding undocumented migration. It covers 11 EU countries, provides an inventory and a critical appraisal of data and estimates related to undocumented migration in the European Union and selected Member States.