Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. Maximising the development impact of migration. The EU contribution for the UN high-level dialogue and next steps towards broadening the development-migration nexus

The High-level Dialogue (HLD) on International Migration and Development in September 2006 was the first-ever high-level event organised by the United Nations General Assembly devoted exclusively to discussing the multidimensional aspects of international migration and development. The second HLD will take place on 3-4 October 2013.

Migration is increasingly coming into sharp focus on the global agenda and is recognised as a powerful vehicle for boosting development in both countries of origin and destination. This is illustrated inter alia by the 2012 report of the UN System Task Team on the Post-2015 UN Development Agenda, ‘Realizing the Future We Want for All’, which recognises migration as a key dimension of global population dynamics and an enabler for inclusive economic and social development.

The increased regional and global mobility of persons, the structural changes in the global economy, and the current economic crisis generate new opportunities and challenges for countries of origin, transit and destination. The 2013 HLD provides a unique opportunity to work towards a global agenda for effective, inclusive migration governance and identify measures that promote the role of migrants as agents of innovation and development. The overall theme of the 2013 HLD is ‘Identifying concrete measures to strengthen coherence and cooperation at all levels, with a view to enhancing the benefits of international migration for migrants and countries alike and its important links to development, while reducing its negative implications’.

Maximising the positive impact of migration on development is an important policy priority for the EU, as demonstrated by its dual policy framework in this area. Migration and development is one of the four priority areas of the Global Approach to Migration and Mobility (GAMM), which provides the overarching framework for the EU external migration policy. Migration is also a specific priority in the EU Agenda for Change, which outlines the EU development policy framework. The migrant’s perspective is a central feature of the GAMM, and enhancing the human rights of migrants is a priority across all EU actions on migration and development.

The purpose of this Communication is twofold. It provides the basis for a common position of the EU and its Member States (hereafter the EU) at the HLD, including key messages for enhanced global cooperation. Section 2-5 is therefore structured according to the themes that will be discussed at the four round tables of the HLD. Furthermore, in section 6 the Communication proposes how the EU could broaden the link between migration and development in its own policies and practices, and take steps to give systematic attention to the role migration and mobility play in the process of sustainable development. This section therefore responds to the Council’s request for a more ‘ambitious and forward-looking’ approach to migration and development at EU level, as formulated in the Council conclusions of 29 May 2012 on the GAMM.

EUR-Lex: COM(2013)292: Follow the progress of this communication through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2013:292:FIN

ESO: Background Information: Making migration a driver for development http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-making-migration-a-driver-for-development/

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