Welcome to the German National Contact Point in the European Migration Network
The goal of the EMN
With the assistance of the National Contact Points the European Migration Network (EMN) is intended to provide data and information on the areas of migration and asylum that are objective and reliable and can be compared at EU level, in the medium term to the organs of the European Community (Commission, Council, Parliament) and to the Member States involved in the network, and in the long term also to the wider public. Although Denmark did not take part in the adoption of the Decision establishing the EMN and also did not establish an official National Contact Point too, it still participates in EMN activities.
This EU-wide network of contact points, each in turn with its own domestic network of renowned researchers, institutes and authorities entrusted with specialist tasks, is intended to help to establish a systematic foundation for monitoring and analysing the multifaceted phenomenon of migration and asylum in order to support policy and decision-making procedures in the European Union.
Political background
In its conclusions of December 2001, the European Council (Laeken) calls on the European Commission to develop a system for exchanging information on all aspects of migration, which is to contribute to creating a joint asylum and immigration policy. Thereupon, the EMN was initiated in 2002 as a pilot project, and implemented from 2004 to the end of 2006 as a preparatory measure. The European Council (Thessaloniki) of June 2003 welcomed the establishment of the EMN and stated that a permanent structure might be set up in the future. The 2005 Hague Programme confirmed the need for joint analyses on the phenomenon of migration (collection, provision, exchange and efficient use of topical information).
On 10 August 2007, the European Commission submitted the Proposal for a Council decision establishing a European migration network in order to enable the EMN to work in the long term on a secure legal and financial basis after the end of the preparatory phase.
On 14 May 2008, the Decision of the Council of the EU created the legal basis for the European Migration Network, the EMN. The legal basis came into force on being published in the Official Journal of the EU on 21 May 2008. With its Decision, the Council once more underlined the considerable significance attaching to practical cooperation in the field of asylum and migration, and backed this up through co-financing of the necessary expenditure.
Composition
The Directorate-General for Justice, Freedom and Security of the European Commission is responsible for developing the EMN in close cooperation with the National Contact Points of the EU Member States. The National Contact Points were nominated by the Governments of the Member States. This function is performed for Germany by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees.
The Member States in turn are called upon to establish national networks of relevant players in order to develop as extensive as possible a view of the situation in the Member States on certain migration- and asylum-related topics.
The Federal Office has answered this call, and in its function as National Contact Point has established a balanced network of experts in Germany. More than 20 network partners such as Universities, research facilities, international organisations and state agencies work with the Federal Office, and are nationally networked with one another.
Further information
More information on the EMN in general and the studies and reports undertaken within the network can be obtained from the EMN's webpage (link see below) and from these pages of the Germany National Contact Point also.
