As part of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union during the first semester of 2024, Fedasil just organised a conference on the theme of the reception of asylum seekers.

This conference took place this Wednesday 22 May in Brussels (and online) and was organised in cooperation with the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA). It was attended by many Belgian and European actors and experts.

Nicole de Moor, State Secretary for Asylum and Migration, opened the discussions by stressing the importance of the new EU Pact on Migration and the challenges for the coming years. “The challenge before us is significant, but I am confident that by working together, across policy levels and sectors, we can make a meaningful difference”, explained the State Secretary.

Pieter Spinnewijn, chief of operations at Fedasil, recalled the Belgian context and the importance of the partnerships in our country. "Since two years in Belgium, we are in what could by now be labelled a permanent crisis where the current 36,000 places in our network are still thousands of places short. It is in difficult times like these that the need to build connections and partnerships with stakeholders becomes ever more relevant.”

“The partnership model has several big advantages: they are longstanding and stable, and they are flexible at the same time. They are more cost-effective and they help garner much needed support in society”, continued Pieter Spinnewijn.

Innovative collaborations

The past few years, the European asylum and reception systems have sometimes faced significant increases in arrivals of asylum seekers. Within this context, the national and local or European authorities, civil society and the private sector have developed innovative collaborative models to promote effective and resistant migration systems.

The conference this 22 May aimed at exploring and sharing the strategies implemented by the different actors in three specific areas: the reception of applicants for international protection, the information and pre-integration of asylum seekers.

You can find attached the programme of this day.

This was the second conference organised by Fedasil as part of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Last March, Fedasil organised in Antwerp a conference of experts on the return and reintegration of migrants.