Ministerial Conference on Migration Flow Management

A Ministerial Conference on Migration Flow Management will be held on 11 May next at 09h00 (Lisbon time), organised under the scope of the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union

The conference, in hybrid format, will take place in the Centro Cultural de Belém, Lisbon, and is one of the main initiatives of the Portuguese Presidency in the migration area, as well as an opportunity for further political dialogue with the countries of North Africa.

Taking part in the conference will be the Ministers for Home Affairs of the Member States of the European Union and Ministers and representatives of partner countries - Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Senegal and Tunisia.

The session will be opened by the Portuguese Minister for Home Affairs, Eduardo Cabrita, the Vice-President of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas i, the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson i, and the African Union Commissioner for Social Affairs, Amira Elfadil.

Also taking part in the meeting will be representatives of EU i agencies (FRONTEX i - European Border and Coast Guard Agency, and EASO - European Asylum Support Office), of international organisations (UNHCR i - United Nations High Commission for Refugees, IOM i - International Organisation for Migration and ICMPD - International Centre for Migration Policy Development) and of the Rabat and Khartoum political dialogue processes.

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Technical Seminar

The Ministerial Conference on Migration Flow Management will be preceded by a Technical Seminar on 10 May. This digital seminar will discuss the management of irregular migration flows, the development of safe and effective return procedures, the legal routes for migration and the role of agencies like FRONTEX and EASO. The conclusions of this technical debate will be presented at the ministerial meeting the next day.

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Portuguese Presidency priority: migration policies and border management

Migration polices and border management are priorities on the agenda of the Portuguese Ministry for Home Affairs under the Portuguese Presidency, through an integrated approach that reconciles the importance of proper management of migration flows between countries of origin and destination with the need to combat human trafficking, along with the implementation of common return policies and the reinforcement of safe, legal migration channels.

To put this plan into action, at a time when the Portuguese Presidency is moving forward with talks on the Pact on Migration and Asylum proposed by the European Commission, there must be dialogue between the European Union and third countries of origin and transit, namely North African countries, as partners who protect fundamental rights.

In this context, the conference will be the ideal place to deal with issues of common interest in terms of migration flows and to launch bases for more in-depth initiatives in the future, through broad, multilateral EU-Africa dialogue.

Press conference

A press conference with the Portuguese Minister for Home Affairs, Eduardo Cabrita, and the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, is scheduled for 13h30 (Lisbon time).