On April 23^rd representatives of migration authorities of Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine gathered in Kyiv to share best practices of migration management reforms in the context of their visa-free and migration dialogue with the European Union, and to summarize the achievements in this respect of the EU-funded MIGRECO project.

From 2013 till 2015 the MIGRECO project (Strengthening Migration Management and Cooperation on Readmission in Eastern Europe) implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), assisted Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine to further develop migration management systems in line with international standards and EU best practices.

With MIGRECO’s regional focus, a key outcome of the project was a revision of the Ukrainian National Migration Policy, underpinned by the Regional Gaps Analysis of Institutional Migration Management Capacities, summarizing the cross-sector analysis of migration legislation and migration management structures in the three countries, focusing on human resource capacities, normative, as well as operational and institutional elements, and drafting specific recommendations for the amendments of legislation, procedures and institutional base, in line with the EU standards and the respective Visa Liberalization Action Plans.

The EU Delegation in Kiev states "We are pleased that the project partners did not stop at analysing the situation, but took the initiative to revise key policy documents on basis of the knowledge gained in the activities of the project".

MIGRECO covered all thematic blocks of the EU-Ukraine Visa Liberalisation Action Plan with trainings, studies and visits that resulted in enhanced knowledge and understanding of biometrics, irregular migration, trafficking in human beings and human rights by Ukrainian practitioners from government bodies dealing with migration issues.

“The MIGRECO project was very relevant and timely for Ukraine, since for example the adoption of a national migration strategy is an urgent step for Ukraine as the social and demographic situation in the country requires new approaches to migration management and the new legal framework for migration policy,” stated Deputy Head of the State Migration Service of Ukraine Yuriy Serhiyenko.

“The International Organization for Migration, supported by its donors, continues to provide assistance to the Ukrainian Government in establishing a comprehensive migration management system and supporting its efforts to develop a national migration strategy in line with EU best practices and in order to facilitate the EU-Ukraine visa dialogue,” said the IOM Ukraine’s Chief of Mission Manfred Profazi.

Through MIGRECO, the Republic of Belarus was also able to develop an Assisted Voluntary Return Programme and to sharpen its expertise on readmission, whilst Moldova has inter alia achieved considerable progress in implementing fully EU-compliant migration management and setting up a modern border agency.

For further information please contact IOM Ukraine Communications Officer Ms. Varvara Zhluktenko (+38 044 568 50 15, 067 447 97 92, vzhluktenko@iom.int)