The European Migration Network

SUMMARY OF:

European Migration Network — Council Decision 2008/381/EC

SUMMARY

WHAT DOES THIS DECISION DO?

It establishes the European Migration Network (EMN), which aims to give up-to-date, objective, reliable and comparable information on migration and asylum to the EU institutions, EU countries, and the general public.

KEY POINTS

• To achieve its objective, the EMN, in collaboration with other relevant EU bodies, collects and analyses data from a wide range of sources. It then produces reports and studies on the migration and asylum situation in the EU and its countries, which are shared on its information exchange system.
• The European Commission coordinates EMN work in cooperation with national contact points (EMN NCPs), which are appointed in each EU country and are responsible for developing a national network. Each EMN NCP is comprised of at least three asylum and migration experts covering the disciplines of policy-making, law, research and statistics.
• Other EMN NCP responsibilities include:
  • attending EMN meetings in order to exchange data and views and provide input for the development of a work programme;
  • preparing national reports and providing information via the information exchange system;
  • helping to develop the EMN glossary and thesaurus; and
  • developing capacity to respond to ad hoc queries.
• The EMN Steering Board (chaired by the Commission, and comprised of representatives from each EU country and an observer from the European Parliament) ensures that the EMN’s work is aligned with EU political priorities.
• The EMN is funded by the European Commission. Specifically, the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund provides the financial resources for the activities and future development of the EMN.

BACKGROUND

The preparatory stage of the EMN started in 2003 in order to address the need to exchange information on all aspects of migration and to contribute to a common asylum and immigration policy. The Hague programme further reinforced the need for a common analysis of migration, which built momentum for the European Commission proposal for this Council decision formally establishing the EMN.

• European Migration Network.

ACT

Council Decision 2008/381/EC of 14 May 2008 establishing a European Migration Network

last update 22.10.2015