Ref. Ares(2022]4695255 - 27/06/2022

 

Ninth Steering
Committee Meeting

19 June 2020, 10.00 - 13:00
Online Meeting via WebEx

Minutes

 

Funded by the European Union Implemented by ICMPD

»
Es <>ICMPD

f
jon Policy Development

Participants

 

 

   
  
   

@ec.europa.eu
@ec.europa.eu

@eeas.europa.eu
@ec.europa.eu

     
 
     
  

 

@ec.europa.eu

merit.unu.edu
@maastrichtuniversit

y.nl

 

Summary of Approvals Granted
®

Updated AWP 2020-202lapproved

DG HOME
DG HOME

DG NEAR

DG DEVCO

DG HOME
EEAS

DG HOME
DG HOME
DG HOME
Maastricht
University
Maastricht
University
ICMPD
ICMPD
ICMPD
ICMPD
ICMPD
ICMPD
ICMPD
ICMPD
ICMPD

Updated Call for Proposals guidelines to broaden eligibility for Strand D to
include lead roles for relevant private bodies such as NGOs, think tanks,

employers’ associations, etc.

Funded by the European Union

Implemented by ICMPD

»
>

ICMPD

International Centre for
Migration Policy Development

Record of Proceedings

ICMPD extended a warm welcome to all the participants to the P'r MPF Steering
Committee Meeting, for the first time taking place in virtual environment via the
Webex online tool, due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. The meeting started
with a virtual “Tour-de-Table" — participants presented themselves and the institutions
they represented.

  
 

MPF focal point in DG HOME — extended her warm welcome to a
new MPF Senior Project Manager — (who joined ICMPD in April
2020)and gave credit to MPF project team for excellent collaboration to date. This
being her last Steering Committee, made a short historical recap
of the evolution of the MPF programme and underlined the achievements through
the years of successful cooperation. She will soon hand over her function DG HOME
colleagues and extended her best wishes for future cooperation. ,
Head of Office ICMPD Brussels, offered sincere thanks for ’S
excellent support and collaboration with ICMPD on the MPF and recognised the
important role she played in cascading information to other colleagues in the EU
services. He wished her wellin Egypt and confirmed ICMPD's anticipation of a similarly
collaborative relationship with her replacement.

 

  

MPF Senior Project Manager introduced the agenda topics (see the meeting
agenda) and opened the meeting with key highlights of the MPF project since
November 2019 (previous Steering Committee Meeting).

Key highlights of the last 6 months

e MPFII call for proposals was published in February 2020, interest is been high
and the pipeline is already oversubscribed. The first grant was awarded to the
Maastricht University School of Governance, contract preparation is ongoing.

e 4AWebinars have been held by the Prague Process and MPF, more are planned
before the end of this year.

«e 7 Infonotes and 2 End of Action Reports were prepared

« Final narative and finance report (together with audit report) for MPF I are in
completion phase, the project will be closed before next reporting period.

e MP Platform is online through the MPF website after some delays. Georgian
and Moldovan colleagues have confirmed interest to pilot usage of the MP
platform. It is anficipated that they will begin working on this in July 2020.

e Tunisia was the most recent country to participate in an evaluation of its MP
(Armenia was excluded), the updated final report has been received, it will be
reviewed and shared in upcoming weeks with DG HOME.

Annual Work Programme 2020

MPF presented an updated annual work programme (AWP) which was approved by
the Steering Committee. Minor changes to the Annual Work Programme were related
to ongoing recruitments that will be completed by autumn 2020 and to some other
rescheduling due to the pandemic.

B2 Strand Communications and Knowledge Management

Under the B2 strand another knowledge management session on the pilot projects will
be planned at the end of 2020 and held in early 2021. The recent webinar (details
below) confirmed the high level of interest in information exchange on pilot labour

Funded by the European Union Implemented by ICMPD

Ey <>ICMPD

International Centre for
Migration Policy Development

mobility projects – some ongoing smaller events such as virtual workshops on targeted thematic areas will be considered. An updated knowledge management strategy will be prepared in the next quarter by the MPF and circulated to SC members. The important nexus role of the MPF needs to be leveraged further and this strategy will ensure that we support EU MS to build on success and use the tools at their disposal. MPF II Grant Programme MPF also presented a financial overview of the MPF II grants programme. The remaining amounts under AMIF, ISF-B and ISF-P may not be mixed with MPF III grants because it is a new Decision. Stand alone grants have to be given out with the remaining amounts – which are negligible at present except for ISF-P, where there is over 500K available. It is a priority to make sure this budget is well used and MPF will carefully look into the pipeline for best options. As MPF II projects close out, if there are recoveries or unused funds then the MPF will look to also contract these funds. The MPF will soon propose an addendum to its contracts, which amongst other issues will seek to broaden out the “toolkit” of contract types to also include service contracts and thereby allow the greatest agility and flexibility for the EU in terms of achieving programme goals. Overview of Pipeline and Ongoing Grants x  Under ISF-Border component, there are 3 projects in pipeline, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia have expressed the interest to lead projects, that will target Belarus and Moldova. x  Under ISF Police, there is one possible project in pipeline linked to the OSCE under MPF III. x  There is 526K EUR left under ISF Police from MPFII, but there is a restriction of eligibility – only EU MS are entitled to lead. It is a priority right now to look for opportunities with member states to contract this funding. x  The biggest demand is clearly for strand D – mobility pilots under AMIF, with 13 projects in pipeline. Given the significant role for the non governmental sector (private sector platforms, think tanks, etc.) it was agreed by the SC to include non-state actors in the eligibility criteria for MPF III grants, with the provision that a clear linkage to state authorities should be made as part of the application process to ensure that the state dimension is not lost or diluted. The MPF team updated the Steering Committee Members about ongoing projects under MPF II, strand A, B and D. Strand A Ongoing Projects Two new projects have started since the last reporting period – LATBEL – (Latvia- Belarus) and PROMETHEUS (France-Georgia). LATBEL focuses on border management capacity building especially during large- scale events, e.g. an ice-hockey championship. At the initial stage of the implementation period, the project faced challenges related to the formal procedures of registering the project in Belarus, as well as the involvement of Poland. Poland withdrew interest at the beginning of the project due to the lack of human resources, but after the successful negotiation of Latvian partners, Polish counterparts agreed to host study visits and contribute to the experience-sharing aspect of the project. The Covid-19 lockdown caused the cancellation of various events,

unfortunately the online format of envisaged activities were not always suitable, this is why currently the implementation is slower but adjustments are being made. The project will request no-cost extension due to the crisis, which will bring it to the end April 2021, right before the start of ice –hockey championship, planned for May 2021 in Latvia. PROMETHEUS, a project between France and Georgia focuses on enhancement of border check systems, of significance due to Georgia’s visa-free regime with the EU. Short after the inception phase of the project, the Covid crisis also affected the project in terms of cancelation of planned activities. One Georgian border police officer who was deployed in Marseille for professional development has returned to Georgia earlier than planned due to the pandemic situation. The implementation of activities will fully resume in July 2020. Similar to LATBEL, the project will request a no- cost extension. JEMPAS II is a B1 project on anti-trafficking and asylum issues implemented by ICMPD to support Jordan –EU cooperation in terms of asylum and anti- trafficking issues. It also includes preparation of training program, peer-to-peer exchanges among the EU MS and Jordan and trainings of Jordanian asylum officers in cooperation with EASO. The initiative is in progress but most probably no-cost extension will be foreseen. INSIGHT, a project on THB between Italy, Sweden and Nigeria has also requested a 6 months no-cost extension due to the delays of implementation during Covid crisis period. Implementation has been ahead of schedule in several work packages which has offered a buffer to the full impact of Covid 19. High levels of turn out to training workshops in Italy confirms the interest and need for initiatives such as INSIGHT. (DEVCO) asked a question regarding coordination with other EU programmes in Nigeria as well as seeking information on the sustainability of the helpdesk service moving forward. The MPF team were able to confirm that the University of Venice has been in close communication with the EU Delegation in Nigeria and that there has been a stakeholder mapping performed to ensure that the project maximises any leverage with other projects funded by the EU and EU member state funds (EU TF, DFID, etc.). The helpdesk is not embedded within government at this point but has been taken on by the Nigerian Women’s Network and embedded within its support structures and planning moving forward.

Strand D Of the four Strand D initiatives ongoing - Digital explorers, PALIM, HOMERe and Young Generation as Change of Agents, HOMERe has been most heavily affected by the crisis. Different possibilities of resuming the project is under consideration at the moment - including suspension and resuming the program in the start of the new 2021 academic year. The three others projects will be extended to catch up on implementation.

Discussion on Pilots and the Pipeline Discussing the skills dimension to labour mobility projects, DG HOME mentioned European Training Foundation and encouraged MPF to look at opportunities for closer cooperation with them. DG HOME further stressed that when building the pilot pipeline that certain strategic cooperation dimensions needed to be taken into consideration as the mobility leg was part of a broader migration relationship and dialogue. DG HOME also encouraged the MPF to ensure effective coordination with DG NEAR and to, where possible, include EC representatives in monitoring mission for the purpose of knowledge exchange and coordination. Knowledge Exchange Virtual Session Steering Committee members were provided with feedback regarding the knowledge exchange online session on 8th June 2020, that the MPF organised among the pilot project representatives of the MPF (4) and those funded by other EU Sources (Match and THAMM). The aim of the meeting was to find innovative solutions for existing challenges and discuss the future prospects of the projects. Key trends that were identified: x Importance of early inclusion and trust building with private sector x Long inception period required to get the necessary agreements and structures in place x Need to ensure skills matching is well conceived and responsive to private sector needs x Language capacities should be a key determinant factor for participation in mobility – additional language learning opportunities should also be provided Update on first Grant Application under MPF III Maastricht University – School of Governance Representative updated the Steering Committee Members about the project proposal – Migration Management Diploma Program (MMDP) for Representatives of MP and GAMM Countries. The grant was awarded under MPF III and contract will be signed in a few weeks. The diploma program already exists within the Maastricht University and gives an opportunity to young professionals from MP and GAMM countries to enhance their theoretical knowledge about migration policies and translate global migration norms into national instruments. The program will create platform for networking and influence intra-regional cooperation. DG HOME expressed appreciation towards MMDP and recommended that the MPF team create linkages with anti-trafficking colleagues within the DG HOME and present the findings and important elements of the program in a format of a lunchtime conference. Update on Prague Process ICMPD Regional Coordinator –                    updated the Steering Committee on Prague Process (PP) implementation and workplan for 2020. It was pointed out that PP strategic group discussed the PP’s COVID-19 contingency plan and the work plan was modified accordingly. Several events were postponed over the last few months including the large-scale event of the migration summer school in Georgia. As an alternative the effort was shifted to the migration observatory and online

events/discussions. 4 webinars and 1 online training have already been organised, all of which were successful in terms of quality and the number of participants attending. The online format will be actively used in the future in parallel with face-to-face meetings. In terms of long-term planning, the Czech Republic will take over the chairmanship of Prague Process Strategic Group from Lithuania which will run in parallel to the Czech EU Presidency in the second half of 2022. The Czech Ministry of Interior will host the 4th Prague Process Ministerial Conference to work on the next mandate (2022-2026). Prague Process is actively considering its future funding and examining new opportunities. Current funding under the MPF will end in 2021 and the SC was alerted that a further funding period may be needed as the MFF is delayed. ICMPD was recommended to support the PP colleagues to effectively engage with DG HOME and member states to map out the potential funding streams and opportunities such as shared management mechanisms or indeed continued funding through the MPF itself. Upcoming 6 months for MPF: x   MPF aims to award at least 70 per cent of grant funds by next reporting period with 2 new geographies for delivery and 4 new project for strand D. x   MPF will ensure that the ISF –Police budget (under MPF II) is committed – creative solutions may have to be considered included an addendum to the MPF II contract if no member state is interested to allow other entities to implement. x   Recently discussed potential B1 initiative with DG CLIMA on climate and migration – needs to be subject to inter-service consultation. MPF to wait on feedback from DG HOME. x   New Rules of Procedure for MPF to be submitted to SC for agreement reflecting evolution of the programme and learning. x   Addendum to MPF II and MPF III to be discussed and prepared to allow for service contracts as part of the MPF toolkit and other updates. x   Updated Knowledge Management Strategy to be prepared. x   Support to PP to identify funding sources – liaison with DG HOME. Date of next meeting The next SC meeting should be held in November 2020 (to regularise back to original schedule). The MPF team will be in touch in due course to agree a date. Annex I Agenda 19 June 2020, 10.00 – 13.00 10.00 - 10.15  Opening remarks (DG Home and ICMPD)

Tour de table (all) Eighth Interim Report, Update on highlights of reporting period 10.15 -11.00     x Covid 19 impact x Scoreboard update x Pipeline Discussion (all) Focus on ongoing Actions: Summary update on Strand A and D 11.00 - 11.45  Feedback on virtual knowledge exchange session amongst pilots and next steps Discussion (all) MPF III Call for Proposals Amendment: 11:45 – 12.00  x   Proposed    amendment   to  eligibility of applicants under Strand D for approval Discussion (all) Presentation on first MPF III Grant 12.00– 12.30       Maastricht University – proposal overview and strategic value for the EU Discussion (all) 12.30 – 12.45 Update on the Prague Process 12.45         Closing