52008DC0611

[pic] | COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES |

Brussels, 8.10.2008

COM(2008) 611 final

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

STRENGTHENING THE GLOBAL APPROACH TO MIGRATION: INCREASING COORDINATION, COHERENCE AND SYNERGIES

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

STRENGTHENING THE GLOBAL APPROACH TO MIGRATION: INCREASING COORDINATION, COHERENCE AND SYNERGIES

1. Introduction

The Global Approach to migration can be defined as the external dimension of the European Union's migration policy. It is based on genuine partnership with third countries, is fully integrated into the EU's other external policies, and addresses all migration and asylum issues in a comprehensive and balanced manner. Adopted in 2005, it illustrates the ambition of the European Union to establish an inter-sectoral framework to manage migration in a coherent way through political dialogue and close practical cooperation with third countries.

The Global Approach has already been the subject of three specific Commission Communications over the past three years[1], setting out short-term measures in relation to particular geographical areas and countries. In December 2007, the Global Approach was also the focus of an interim progress report[2]. Several other Communications, without having the Global Approach as their main focus, have also fed into one or more of its three essential dimensions, i.e. management of legal migration, the fight against irregular immigration, and migration and development.

It is evident from these documents that the Global Approach is still an evolving process although many important results have already been achieved. The setting up of a migration information and management centre in Mali, mobility partnerships in Cape Verde and Moldova, capacity building in national employment and migration agencies such as the one in Morocco, and a migration researcher's network across the Mediterranean are some of the most promising initiatives.[3] Nevertheless, it is now time to strengthen the EU's external migration management so that it can become better coordinated and more coherent..

The Communication of June 2008 on A Common Immigration Policy for Europe highlighted the need to strengthen the Global Approach to ensure a coherent, common European migration policy[4], reiterating the principle that effective management of migration flows requires genuine partnership and cooperation with third countries and that migration issues should be fully integrated into the EU's development cooperation and external policies, as well as incorporate issues emerging from them. These elements should also be reflected in the European Pact on Immigration and Asylum due to be adopted by the European Council, the present Communication aiming to be one of its first building blocks.

The Communication is also a response to the European Council’s call to the Commission to report on what is being done to implement the Global Approach. It sets out prospects and suggests both substantive and methodological improvements to the Global Approach, focusing on ways of improving coordination, coherence and synergies. The Communication examines the relevance of the thematic development of the Global Approach and argues for deepened and more specific actions. It then focuses on the geographical aspects and suggests a more differentiated approach to cooperation gearing it to the specific context of the various regions and countries. Finally, it considers the Global Approach as a framework for coherence and coordination in achieving better governance of migration flows, and its efficiency in terms of the available financing instruments.

Strengthening the external aspects of asylum and protection of refugees is a key element of the EU's approach to migration but will not be covered here as these aspects are addressed separately in the Asylum Policy Plan presented by the Commission in June 2008[5].

2. Relevance of the Global Approach at the thematic level

The Global Approach reflects a major change in the external dimension of the European migration policy over recent years, namely the shift from a primarily security-centred approach focused on reducing migratory pressures, to a more transparent and balanced approach guided by a better understanding of all aspects relevant to migration, improving the accompanying measures to manage migratory flows, making migration and mobility positive forces for development, and giving greater consideration to decent work aspects in policies to better manage economic migration.

The EU has built the multidimensional character of the Global Approach on a thematic basis, covering legal migration and mobility, irregular immigration, and migration and development. Many concrete actions on the ground preceded the Global Approach, although many of them tended to be done in isolation. Yet, the very nature of the Global Approach points to the need to combine more systematically action by the Community, EU Member States, and third countries or other players, pertaining to the various thematic fields.

2.1. Legal economic migration and mobility

The EU supports efforts to strengthen third countries’ capacities to manage legal migration, including by facilitating the work of the national services or of autonomous centres in charge of counselling potential migrants and/or their nationals abroad. As reiterated in the June Communication on a common European immigration policy, third countries should also be seen as partners when it comes to addressing labour needs in the EU, whilst keeping in line with the Community preference for EU citizens. So, the EU needs to invest in informing potential migrants about the legal opportunities for access to the EU and the risks of using irregular immigration options, and about their rights and obligations in the destination countries. To this end, a migration portal to help potential migrants to understand the rules and procedures for legal access to the EU and its Member States will be presented in due course.Such information will also be communicated through targeted information campaigns. The pilot Mobility Partnerships are also relevant, , the first two signed on 5 June 2007 with the Republics of Moldova and Cape Verde, as they establish an overall framework for migration management with individual third countries.

A more highly developed common European immigration policy will need to give more thought to ways of matching jobseekers to vacancies and to allowing for more flexible access for labour migrants. This means that work in areas such as recognition of foreign qualifications, exploring the portability of pension rights and other welfare entitlements, and promoting labour market integration at both ends of the migration pathway and social inclusion of migrants and development of inter cultural skills, needs to be stepped up and given much higher priority. Moreover, ensuring the full implementation of the researchers' visa package[6] fostering the admission and mobility for research purposes of third-country nationalities will be crucial.

Mobility for the purpose of short stays and business is becoming increasingly important for the EU's economic development. The EU and its Member States therefore have an interest in promoting short-term mobility, in particular by simplifying the travel conditions of bona fide travellers from certain third countries, in particular, those neighbouring the EU.. The Visa Information System (VIS), which will become operational in 2009, will be accompanied by a gradual roll-out to all third countries subject to the visa obligation by 2011. Moreover, concurring with the June 2008 Council Conclusions, the Commission will present a proposal for a registered traveller system by the beginning of 2010.

Also the Community Code on Visas[7] will boost information provision and legal certainty for visa applicants and strengthen the procedural guarantees by requiring reasons to be given for any visa applications rejection. Equal treatment of visa applicants should benefit from harmonised procedures and there will be provisions on the increased issuance of multiple entry visas with a long validity to bona fide applicants.

In this context, the Commission proposes to:

- Implement and then evaluate the first generation of mobility partnerships with a view to extend their use as a key mechanism for strategic cooperation with selected third countries, while taking into account EU external priorities.

- Further develop national capacities and migration information and management centres in relevant countries, taking into account the various ongoing experiences.

- Make more systematic use of information channels to inform migrants about admission conditions, their obligations and rights, including fundamental rights, and to prepare them for integration where relevant also in cooperation with the social partners in third countries.

- Develop labour-matching tools and stimulate twinning between labour market agencies and key institutions in Member States and third countries.

- Stimulate the exchange of best practices between Member States, migrant and diaspora associations as well as regional and local actors in third countries in the area of integration of migrants.

- Provide incentives for circular migration by setting up or strengthening legal and operational measures such as:

- compiling best practices and launching circular migration pilot initiatives to boost the contribution that circular migration can make to development in source countries and to ensure that such mobility responds to market needs in destination countries; and does not contribute to brain drain exploring specific tools to facilitate circular migration and brain circulation such as "dual posts" (e.g. for health professionals, teachers and researchers) and twinning between public sector employers and institutions in EU Member states and migrant source countries, and to help migrants reintegrate in source country labour markets,

- explore ways to granting legal immigrants the right to priority access to further legal residence in the EU, and examine how the portability of acquired social rights to third countries, notably the payment of pensions may facilitate such mobility.

- Develop common visa application centres with the purpose of facilitating applicants' access to submitting applications.

2.2. Fight against irregular immigration

The EU offers assistance for strengthening border management in third countries, for capacity building for border guards and for migration officials, for financing information campaigns on the risks of irregular immigration, for improving reception conditions, and for developing the use of biometric technologies to make travel or identity documents more secure. FRONTEX and the Immigration Liaison Officers Networks have been instrumental in achieving progress in this regard. The Council has invited the Commission to consider extending the mandate of FRONTEX with regard to the support the Agency can provide to third countries on border management. Furthermore, readmission agreements have been concluded between the Community and eleven third countries. Another negotiation has recently been completed and a further four negotiating mandates are yet to be pursued. The practicalities of these agreements will require efficient cooperation and accompanying measures for the return and reintegration of migrants in their countries of origin.

To counteract smuggling of and trafficking in human beings, the Community is supporting and promoting the ratification and implementation of international instruments, the drafting and implementation of National Anti-Trafficking Action Plans, legislative improvements, and the prevention, reintegration and rehabilitation of victims. The Ouagadougou Action Plan of November 2006 (now a part of the EU-Africa Partnership on Migration, Mobility and Employment) has created new cooperation prospects between the European Union and Africa in this area.

Finally, the EU needs to persevere with dialogue and concerted action with partner countries in particular regions.

Accordingly, the Commission proposes to:

- Acquire and provide timely and updated information on changes in migratory routes towards the EU by promoting reliable comparable data to be collected in both sending and destination countries, exploring new scientific methodologies, and making full use of new technologies, such as the electronic mapping system.

- Provide assistance to key third countries to strengthen their migration management, e.g . sharing experiences on border control issues, training of border guards and the exchange of operational information.

- Support third countries in the adoption and implementation of National Integrated Border Management Strategies in line with EU standards.

- Support local organisations that operate to sensitise potential migrants to stay and help them to find opportunities in their home countries.

- Intensify, with the active involvement of origin and transit countries, particularly in the European Neighbourhood Policy context, joint operations and cooperation in setting up a border surveillance infrastructure under the European Border Surveillance System (EUROSUR).

- While placing the readmission policy more firmly within the Global Approach and its priorities and using the potential of mobility partnerships, intensify efforts on readmission agreements between the EC and the main countries of origin and transit; make sure that third countries meet their obligations to readmit persons staying illegally in the EU, including where applicable under the Cotonou Agreement, and the recognition of documents facilitating the return of undocumented migrants, as well as offering the necessary assistance for such readmissions. Ensure through training, exchange of best practices and coaching that all return operations are conducted with dignity and in line with human rights standards, and increase cooperation to secure the sustainability of such returns.

- Encourage third countries to ratify and implement international instruments related to the fight against smuggling and trafficking in human beings.

- Strengthen, at the global level, cooperation within international organisations, in particular with the United Nations, in fighting human trafficking.

- Encourage due attention to the human trafficking issue in the political and cooperation dialogue with partner countries and with regional organisations such as the African Union, ECOWAS, SADC, ASEAN and ASEM.

- Give priority to the implementation of the Ouagadougou Action Plan, support regional organisations in developing anti-trafficking strategies and action plans, and ensure that existing ones are put into effect.

2.3. Migration and development

There are many ongoing and recent initiatives in the area of migration and development, such as initiatives encouraging the positive impact on development from the transfers of migrants' remittances and reducing the cost of remittance transfers. Other initiatives geared to enabling members of diasporas to contribute to their country of origin and the temporary return of highly qualified migrants have also been launched. They have proved a success along with initiatives concerning circular migration from a development perspective, and measures targeting brain drain and ethical recruitment, in particular regarding health care professionals.

The work on migration and development should now be deepened and refined. The objectives, principles and organisational aspects of the European Consensus on Development[8] should be applied with a view to strengthening EU efforts to address the root causes of migration, with a special focus on employment issues, governance and demographic developments.

Migration policies should be incorporated in a structural manner into policies on health, education and human capital, and into social and economic development strategies. Migration and development policies should also focus much more on economic reform and job creation and on improving the working conditions and the socio-economic situation in low-income and middle-income countries, and in regions characterised by high emigration pressures. This would include promoting access to quality education for all, the development and improvement of vocational training and the reinforcement of management skills, and further developing the role of the formal labour markets.

The EU-Africa Partnership on Migration, Mobility and Employment, established in 2007, now provides the framework for this in African countries. In other regions such as Eastern Europe and Asia, existing cooperation frameworks and mobility partnerships are potential instruments for such a focus. In parallel to a human capital and employment-focused approach, measures in the areas of foreign direct investment and trade are essential. Furthermore, the EU should also formulate a policy in response to recent developments such as the increasing impact of climate change on migratory movements.

In view of the above, the Commission proposes to:

- Work towards efficient, secure and low-cost remittance transfers for a broader development impact by:

- improving statistics and supporting financial sector development,

- creating an environment favorable to foreign direct investments in migrant source countries, including the productive investment of migrants' remittances, and in this context work with the financial sector to encourage mobility investment funds,

- encouraging Member States, under the Directive on Payment Services, to also regulate "one-leg" transactions in which at least one of the payment service providers is located outside the EEA so that remittances can be sent with more transparency and with adequate consumer protection,

- establishing, in close cooperation with the African Union and the World Bank, a remittances institute in Africa and stepping up work on remittances particularly in the Western Balkans.

- Promote and support initiatives by migrant groups and diaspora organisations to get involved in EU policy initiatives with and about their countries and regions of origin and to:

- better tap the human and economic potential of diasporas for the development of partner countries, through targeted initiatives in areas such as trade facilitation, investment promotion and transnational networking,

- supporting efforts by migrant source countries to reach out to their diasporas,

- supporting diaspora groups that are engaged in development-related activities in their source countries,

- encouraging initiatives to enable migrants and members of diasporas to access business management advice, micro-credit opportunities and support for setting up SMEs in source countries.

- Strengthen the Policy Coherence for Development (PCD) dimension of the migration and development nexus in close cooperation with the countries concerned and with particular emphasis on the brain drain, by:

- acquiring a more in-depth and sector-specific understanding of the current and forecast scale and impact of brain drain,

- supporting the definition and implementation of country specific 'safeguarding skills for development' policies, based on training, retention, ethical recruitment and return,[9]

- considering how best to develop ethical recruitment of health service staff from third countries, as part of a green paper on the European health workforce.

- Promote access to quality education for all, the development and improvement of vocational training and the reinforcement of management skills and further develop the role of the formal labour markets and decent working conditions in low-income and middle-income countries with a view to improving conditions and employment opportunities in regions characterised by high emigration pressures.

- Apply the objectives, principles and organisational aspects of the European Consensus on Development to strengthen EU efforts to address the root causes of migration, with a special focus on employment issues, governance and demographic developments.

- Explore the relationship between climate change and migration and gain a better understanding of the number of people affected now and in the future.

3. Relevance of the Global Approach in geographical terms

3.1. The Southern migratory routes

The Global Approach focused first on Africa and in particular on Sub-Saharan Africa, taking into account all the countries along the Southern migratory routes to the European Union. It established new forms of dialogue and cooperation between countries from various regional settings, beyond the traditional boundary lines of relations between the European Union and these countries.

At the political level, an important regional process was launched with a ministerial conference on migration and development in Rabat in July 2006, setting up a framework for comprehensive action, followed by concrete initiatives, workshops and a second ministerial Conference in Paris in November 2008. The Global Approach also inspired the Ministerial Conference of Tripoli (November 2006), which, for the first time, ushered in a common approach between the European Union and the whole of Africa. The first ever Euromed ministerial meeting on migration in Albufeira (November 2007) set priorities in the form of concrete cooperation initiatives. The EU-Africa summit in Lisbon (December 2007) translated the common approach into concrete terms by the adoption of the EU-Africa Partnership on Migration, Mobility and Employment. At the bilateral level, the political dialogue on migration was launched in a series of key countries, triggered by EU migration missions based on Articles 8 and 13 of the Cotonou Agreement. In addition, a cooperation platform was established with Ethiopia. Finally, the mobility partnership with Cape Verde of June 2008 (covering legal migration, the fight against irregular immigration, and migration and development), to be followed by exploratory talks with Senegal, should pave the way for extended operational cooperation on migration in this region.

With many initiatives underway, coherence is now the watchword, both at the level of political developments and implementation. The agreed action along the migratory routes requires intra-African cooperation, especially between sub-Saharan African countries and North African countries. Organisations such as the African Union and ECOWAS need the resources to coordinate such cooperation. Politically sensitive issues like refugee protection, visa facilitation and readmission need to be addressed in an overall, balanced context, and there must be progress on all fronts.

In view of the above, the Commission proposes to:

- Ensure that all aspects of EU-Africa cooperation are implemented and evaluated at the political level through successive ministerial meetings, with a first follow-up to the Lisbon summit in 2010.

- Use the recently established EU Implementation Team on the Migration, Mobility and Employment Partnership one of as the main vehicles for coordinating operational cooperation between the Commission and Member States.

- Strengthen policy ownership among African countries by focusing on the importance of South/South migratory flows and support African countries wishing to develop their own migration policy framework.

- Promote triangular cooperation (i.e. cooperation between the Maghreb and Sub-Saharan African countries, with EU support), in particular through initiatives such as developing migration observatories, informing on legal migration, promoting consular cooperation, cooperation on readmission, border controls and mixed migration flows.

- Increase knowledge on remittances in Africa with the establishment of an African Remittances Institute under the leadership of the African Union and in partnership with the World Bank.

- Make more use of bilateral channels as well as regional and continental cooperation frameworks such as ECOWAS, the Euromed process, the Rabat process and the African Union, for stronger result-oriented dialogue and cooperation.

- Ensure systematic and operational follow-up of the joint migration missions and other migration cooperation related to the Cotonou Agreement.

3.2. The Eastern and South-Eastern regions neighbouring the EU

In 2007, the Global Approach was extended to the Eastern and South-Eastern regions neighbouring the European Union, and to a lesser extent to the Middle East and Asia. The Global Approach priorities for these regions were in line with earlier ones, namely the European Neighbourhood policy, the Pre-accession strategy and the Enlargement process. Dialogue and cooperation on migration were already well under way within these frameworks. In parallel, regional processes like the Budapest and Söderköping processes, and regional organisations such as the OSCE and the Council of Europe have also been very active in this issue area. The Global Approach was able to build on these results.

The pilot mobility partnership with the Republic of Moldova and the launching of the Black Sea cooperation platform are fruits of the Global Approach in this region. Exploratory talks with Georgia for a further pilot mobility partnership may also bring important results, paving the way for cooperation with yet other partner countries. While the security issues (border control, fight against irregular immigration, etc.) and now increasingly questions of legal migration, were the main first targets for cooperation in this region, the migration and development dimension too has started to emerge. Indeed, there would be clear added value in developing, with appropriate countries, cooperation in the areas of labour migration management, development-enhancing remittances, voluntary return and reintegration of migrants, and diaspora networks.

Finally, some of the other tools of the Global Approach to migration, such as migration profiles and cooperation platforms, are to be applied in a more systematic manner to the Eastern and South-Eastern regions.

In the light of the above, it would be appropriate to:

- Increase the visibility of the Global Approach under the European Neighbourhood Policy and the pre-accession strategy by intensifying cooperation with the neighbouring countries and making better use of existing structures for dialogue and cooperation .

- Seek more synergy between the Global Approach and the other cooperation structures, especially in relation to Turkey and the countries in the Western Balkans.

- Strengthen the presence of the EU in the regional consultative processes, in particular the Budapest and Söderköping processes, and regional organisations with a view to promoting the Global Approach on a regional scale.

- Ensure that existing migration-related agreements are fully implemented, and seek operational cooperation in terms of border management, irregular immigration, readmission and return, and human trafficking.

- Develop the Black Sea Cooperation Platform and apply more systematically migration profiles and migration missions in the region.

- Stress the migration and development dimension by concrete initiatives focusing on circular migration, remittances and diaspora networks.

3.3. Differentiating the approach in dealings with other regions

Though a point of reference in the previous Communication on the Global Approach, the Southern Caucasus, Central Asia, the Middle East and Asia have received only limited attention under the Global Approach. However, the migration potential of these regions (in terms of irregular immigration or legal economic migration to the EU) cannot be ignored, requiring a more pragmatic, differentiated and result-oriented methodology, using both a multilateral and bilateral approach. Furthermore, countries like India, China, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and the Philippines, as well as the Middle East are becoming increasingly relevant for the EU's migration policy.

As regards Latin America and the Caribbean, it is important to follow up the Lima Declaration from the EU-LAC Summit in May 2008 by developing a structured and comprehensive dialogue on migration, identifying common challenges and areas for mutual cooperation and benefiting from the activities of EU-LAC experts.

In the light of the above, it would be appropriate to:

- Use the existing multilateral structures between the EU and Asia, and the ASEM in particular, to deepen the dialogue on migration policies, exchange of experiences and best practices and explore possible synergies between the two continents.

- Consider broadening the existing dialogue on irregular immigration with China to include all migration-related aspects and to establish dialogue with a number of Asian countries, in particular India, Vietnam and the Philippines.

- Ensure a follow-up to the Lima Declaration to deepen our mutual understanding of the migration challenges and of the migration policies in place, and to strengthen the existing collaboration by putting in place an agreed framework for enhanced cooperation and partnership between the European Union and Latin America and the Caribbean on migration and mobility policies.

4. THE GLOBAL APPROACH AS A FRAMEWORK OF COHERENCE, COORDINATION AND EFFICIENCY FOR BETTER MIGRATION GOVERNANCE

The new governance approach proposed in the June 2008 Communication on a Common Immigration Policy for Europe will also have a bearing on the future working methods under the Global Approach, which will have to be more coherent, better coordinated and more efficient. Notably, regular analysis and evaluation will be needed in close cooperation between Member States and the Commission to feed into the annual report to the Spring European Council as suggested in the June Communication and, probably, in the European Immigration Pact.

4.1. Coordination and coherence

The Global Approach, with its comprehensive policy towards migration, requires closer coordination between the EU and the national, regional and local level and with third countries, using a range of instruments. Migration missions, migration profiles, mobility partnerships and cooperation platforms have already shown their worth, but instruments like these need to be applied more systematically to ensure structural coordination and policy coherence. There is a clear need to enhance cooperation between the Commission and the Member States in third countries, and to ensure that efforts are properly coordinated. There is also a need to improve and enlarge the evidence base for migration initiatives. Combining all the information available to the Commission, Member States, EU agencies and other bodies can be helpful in this respect.

It is also necessary to translate better in concrete and operational terms the political objectives of the European Union as regards migration, in the dialogue and cooperation with third countries. A genuine partnership can only be built and maintained in case both sides invest sufficiently in informing about their policy intentions and developments. The animated discussions accompanying the adoption of the Return Directive in the summer of 2008 are a clear reminder of the need for the EU to better communicate its policies.

Finally, the EU and its Member States should adopt a higher profile and actively engage in promoting the Global Approach in various multilateral, global and regional cooperation frameworks such as the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD), that will hold its next session in Manila in October and will provide an opportunity for the EU to present a coherent and consolidated position, the United Nations and its relevant specialised agencies, the G8, the OECD, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the International Organisation for Migration, the World Bank and regional development banks, as well as the regional consultative processes.

In the light of the above, the Commission proposes to:

- Mainstream and coordinate migration with other policy areas, including development, foreign policy, security, trade, environment, agriculture, employment, education, health, research and social affairs, and promote timely consultation with relevant stakeholders, both externally and internally.

- Strengthen regular interaction between the various ministries in the Member States to ensure implementation of the Global Approach.

- Enhance and upgrade the migration management capacities as part of the core tasks of Commission Delegations and Member States’ Embassies, e.g. by setting up a migration support mechanism for the exchange of information, expertise and training.

- Strengthen capacity building measures in selected source and transit countries of migration e.g. by initiating Migration Support Teams, with experts assigned from the Member States authorities.

4.2. Efficient use of financial support

The Global Approach is funded substantially through the available EU financial instruments. These include the Aeneas Programme, now superseded by the Thematic Programme of cooperation with third countries in the areas of migration and asylum, and the Solidarity and Migration Flows Programme. Other funding has come from the geographic instruments, notably the Meda and the Tacis programmes, now replaced by the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument, and the geographic instrument for Sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific region, the European Development Fund, as well as from the Development Cooperation Instrument for Asia and Latin America. The implementing rules for these latter instruments, however, sometimes limit the extent to which they can be used for migration purposes. The Rapid Reaction Mechanism, now superseded by the Stability Instrument, has also been used for supporting some migration initiatives.

The complementary and timely mobilisation of the various EC funding sources remains challenging, and there is a need to consider how best to combine these various resources – including funding from EU Member State and other outside sources.

The way the various Community instruments are used needs to be improved, as does the action taken by the Member States and the Community. The voluntary pooling of resources from the Community, the Member States and third countries in line with the proposals in the Communication on A Common Immigration Policy for Europe, should be encouraged.

In sum, making the Global Approach more efficient depends partly on the method and remit of financing, and will make greater demands on the human resources. This will call for improved coordination among all stakeholders, and more efficient and regular monitoring and evaluation.In the light of the above, the Commission proposes to:

- Set up mechanisms for coordinating and, possibly, pooling the resources of Member States, Community and third countries to serve Global Approach priorities.

- Evaluate the efficiency of the current EC financial instruments in terms of their ability to deliver the objectives of the Global Approach to migration.

5. Conclusions

Under the Global Approach, the European Union is developing an innovative way of addressing migration issues in all their complexity. Though still in its infancy, it is an approach which has already generated the necessary political impetus and has raised the profile of the external dimension of the European migration policy. It has been inclusive and comprehensive also in the sense that it was quickly expanded in thematic and geographical terms.

This Communication builds on the principles suggested in the recent Communication on A Common Immigration Policy for Europe and provides the first building blocks for the actions thereof proposed, which should also be taken on board of the European Pact on Immigration and Asylum.

The analysis in this Communication deals with the Global Approach in both geographical and thematic terms. However, it is now necessary to refine the approach so that it reflects better the strategic migration objectives of the EU; that it takes into account the specificities of the regions and countries; and that it helps us to manage more effectively the new and evolving challenges and opportunities set by migration.

This can only be achieved by increasing coordination and synergies between the Commission, the Member States and the third countries concerned, to achieve greater effectiveness and more coherence in the practical application of the Global Approach.

[1] Priority actions for responding to the challenges of migration: First follow-up to Hampton Court - COM(2005) 621; The Global Approach to Migration one year on: Towards a comprehensive European migration policy - COM(2006) 735; Applying the Global Approach to Migration to the Eastern and South-Eastern Regions Neighbouring the European Union - COM(2007) 247.

[2] Interim report on the progress of the overall approach in the field of migration - SEC(2007) 1632.

[3] The Migration Information and Management Centre ( CIGEM ); the Euro-Mediterranean Consortium for Applied Research on International Migration (CARIM) and L'agence nationale de promotion de l'Emploi et des Competences (ANAPEC).

[4] A Common Immigration Policy for Europe: principles, actions and tools - COM(2008) 359.

[5] Policy Plan on Asylum: an Integrated Approach to Protection Across the EU - COM(2008) 360.

[6] OJ L 289, 3.11.2005, p. 15; OJ L 289, 3.11.2005, p. 23; OJ L 289, 3.11.2005, p. 26.

[7] Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a Community Code on Visas - COM(2006) 403.

[8] Joint statement by the Council and the representatives of the governments of the Member States meeting within the Council, the European Parliament and the Commission on European Union Development Policy: 'The European Consensus', 2006/C46/01.

[9] Commission Staff Working Paper on Policy Coherence for Development - SEC(2008) 434/2.