Workshop
Details
EU Migration Partnership Revisited
Date: 27 -28 March 2017
Venue: Corinthia Hotel, St. George's Bay, St. Julians, Malta
For at least a decade, the issue of migration and mobility has been a focus for the different forms of cooperation, dialogue and partnership between the European Union and the countries of the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean. The growing numbers of persons globally on the move and in need of protection, in particularly refugees in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean region, pose new challenges both for countries of transit and destination.
A key step in dealing with the multitude of challenges was taken through the Valletta EU Migration Summit in November 2015 which produced a concrete action plan and created the EU Emergency Fund for Africa as financing instrument. In June 2016, the European Commission then proposed a new Partnership Framework with third countries under the European Agenda on Migration. The European Council endorsed the Partnership Framework and called for its swift implementation, starting by concluding bilateral “compacts” with a number of priority countries. The compacts aim to reduce irregular migration by tackling smuggler networks, opening up possibilities for legal migration, facilitating the return of irregular migrants and addressing the root causes of irregular movement of people. Critical voices remark however an increasing unilateral tendency in the EU migration policy imposing migration management as condition for development aid and to focus primarily on deterrence of migration, while neglecting the development of possibilities for legal migration and the vulnerability of refugees and host communities.
The expert workshop thus aims to review the existing instruments of EU migration policy, to discuss new forms and formats for dialogue as well as to provide recommendations for potential adjustments.
Program
Sunday, 26 March 2017
19:30 Welcome Dinner
Monday, 27 March 2017
09:00 Welcoming Remarks
Dr. Canan Atilgan, Director Regional Program South Mediterranean, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
09:15 Roundtable 1: Valletta and Beyond – Progress and Remaining Challenges
Moderator: Dr. Monika Wohlfeld, German Chair for Peace Studies and Conflict Prevention, Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies (MEDAC), University of Malta
Input:
- Therese Zahra, Press and Political Officer, European Commission, Representation in Malta
- Gerald Knaus, Founding Chairman, European Stability Initiative (ESI)
- Dr. Moha Ennaji, President, South North Center for Intercultural Dialogue and Migration Studies, Morocco
11:30 Roundtable 2: Migration Compacts – Assessment, Lessons and The Way Ahead
Moderator: Dr. Stefan Luft, Professor, University of Bremen
Input:
- Linda Tubaishat, Labor Market Lead, Compact Project Management Unit (PMU), Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, Jordan
- Dr. Imogen Sudbery, Head of Office, International Rescue Committee Brussels
14:45 Roundtable 3: Regional Frameworks for Dialogue and Cooperation
Moderator: Laura El Chemali, Researcher, Université Libre de Bruxelles
Input:
- Prof. Dr. Hassen Boubakri, President, Centre of Tunis for Migration and Asylum and Professor, University of Sousse, Tunisia
- Giuseppe Loprete, Chief of Mission, IOM Niger
- Dimitris Skleparis, Research Associate, School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Glasgow
Moderator: Peter Rimmele, Resident Representative Lebanon and Head of the Rule of Law Program Middle East/North Africa, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
Input:
- Zahra Langhi, Director, Libyan Women’s Platform for Peace
- Hala El Helou, Advisor to the Lebanese Minister of State for Displaced Affairs
20:00 Dinner
Tuesday, 28 March 2017
09:00 Roundtable 5: The Necessity for Intraregional Coordination
Moderator: Dr. Neven Bondokji, Senior Research Fellow, Human Security, WANA Institute, Jordan
Input:
- Dr. Mehdi Lahlou, Institut National de Statistique et d'Économie Appliquée, Morocco
- Roberto Cancel, Labor Mobility and Human Development Regional Thematic Specialist for the MENA Region, Cairo
- Dr. Benjamin Schraven, German Development Institute (DIE)
11:15 Concluding Roundtable: Recommendations
Moderator: Dr. Canan Atilgan, Director Regional Program South Mediterranean, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung
13:00 Lunch
14:30 End of Workshop
17:00 KAS Policy Forum: Protecting Lives and Controlling Migration
Venue: Hotel Hilton, St. Julian's Bay, Malta
Wednesday, 29 March 2017
Departure of participants
