EMN Finland, Odysseus Network and European Policy Centre (EPC) are organising a two-day conference on migration, asylum and integration policies in conjunction with the Finnish Presidency of the European Union. The conference takes place in Finlandia Hall on 24–25 October 2019. The high-profile conference brings together international organisations, decision-makers, academics and NGOs to discuss the future of EU migration, asylum and integration for the next five-year period (2020–2024).
In October 1999, the Council of Europe adopted the conclusions of the Tampere summit, which marked the beginning of a new era for immigration and asylum policies in Europe. Since then, the Council of Europe has adopted three five-year programmes (Hague in 2004, Stockholm in 2009 and the strategic guidelines in 2014). Now, 20 years later, history is once again being made in Finland. Based on the Tampere Conclusions, international experts on migration, asylum and integration gather in Helsinki tomorrow to discuss different aspects of these policies.
The European Union needs a comprehensive approach to migration addressing political, human rights and development issues in countries and regions of origin and transit. To that end, the Union as well as Member States are invited to contribute, within their respective competence under the Treaties, to a greater coherence of internal and external policies of the Union. Partnership with third countries concerned will also be a key element for the success of such a policy, with a view to promoting co-development.
The fact that the citation above from the Tampere Conclusions 20 years ago could well be from any current EU policy document or academic study clearly shows they still maintain their relevance today. A lot of significant development work has been done during the past 20 years at EU level in the field of migration, yet much remains to be done to develop the European Union into an area of freedom, security and justice.
The European Migration Network listed some of the most significant developments of the Member States and Norway from the past year:
The Finnish Presidency is fostering a debate on the future direction of internal security in the EU. Key elements are the enhancement of operational cooperation between law enforcement authorities and the role of the justice and home affairs agencies of the EU. The Presidency is also advancing debate on the prevention of violent radicalisation and the fight against terrorism as well as on the countering of cybercrime and cyber threats.
“The primary goal of Finland’s EU-presidency is to further the reform of the Common European Asylum System. This conference shall also touch on this highly topical issue. We should strengthen legal migratory pathways to Europe while at the same time improving our preparedness for major fluctuations in the number of asylum seekers” says Maria Ohisalo, Minister of the Interior.
The conclusions of the conference in Helsinki are published in late 2019 at www.emn.fi, #EmnFinland and #Tampere20Conference
Links to conference streams:
Thursday: https://prospectumlive.com/event/emn_20191024
Friday: https://prospectumlive.com/event/emn_20191025
More information:
Rafael Bärlund, Senior Advisor, EMN Finland, [email protected], +358 (0)295 433 022.
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