EMN Slovakia hosted a meeting of the European EMN Return Expert Group (REG) on 1 and 2 February 2023 in Bratislava, Slovakia. Representatives of European Union Member States, EU agencies and international organisations informed each other about the return and reintegration of migrants, and discussed activities planned in 2023.
Opening of the EMN Return Expert Group meeting. Photo © International Organization for Migration (IOM) 2023
At the meeting, the Slovak Republic was represented by the Bureau of Border and Foreigner Police of the Police Force Presidium and by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for the area of assisted voluntary returns.
The REG functions as a platform for practical cooperation and the sharing of good practice and expertise on return of persons from outside the EU. The expert group provides a structure for planning, follow-up and monitoring of return activities in the EU. It connects key stakeholders from EU countries, and representatives of EU funded programmes and when appropriate, civil society.
As part of its activities, the EMN works also through its expert groups. They serve mainly to exchange information and good practice in particular migration areas between the European Commission, the EU Member States and observing countries. Apart from the return expert group REG established in 2014, among them belong also the EMN Platform on Statelessness and the EMN Information and Awareness Raising Campaigns Working Group created in 2016.
