Stepping up cooperation with IOM

During a high level meeting between the EU and the International Organisation on Migration (IOM) held today, the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations joined the EU-IOM Strategic Cooperation Framework. The Framework, established in July 2012, allows the relevant Commission services, the European External Action Service and the IOM to consolidate, develop further and structure their cooperation on migration.

The Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement Negotiations is largely concerned by migration flows which have impacted most of the countries neighbouring the EU and is playing an active role in responding to the challenges arising from the need to better manage migration. Operational cooperation with IOM has already been ongoing in the Neighbourhood South and East regions as well as in Enlargement countries. In the context of the current refugee crisis, this cooperation has recently been stepped up along the Eastern Mediterranean route.

The overall objective of today’s meeting was to explore ways for strengthening international efforts to implement the political commitments adopted at the Valletta Summit in November 2015, the Eastern Mediterranean - Western Balkans Route Conference and in the EU-Turkey Action Plan . Discussions focused on pressing topics of common concern for the EU and the IOM, including facilitating legal avenues for migration, voluntary returns and reintegration, and strengthening the evidence base to inform policy on migration and displacement.