Support for Participation of Former Soviet Union Countries in the Soderkoping Process

The May 2004 enlargement of the European Union (EU) called for increased cooperation between the Western Newly Independent states (WestNIS) and the EU in migration management and asylum issues. In early 2001, UNHCR and the Swedish Migration Board initiated a dialogue (the “Soderkoping” process) among neighbouring states, including IOM member states Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, to collectively address irregular migration and asylum challenges alongside the future EU eastern border. IOM soon became a partner and was also involved in the provision of training and expertise. This project aimed to build on the momentum gained by the dialogue to date by providing IOM assistance to the Cross-Border Cooperation Process (CBCP) Secretariat, which was established to help coordinate the process, and enabling IOM member state participation in three activities, including research and analysis on implementation gaps in migration/asylum management in the context of EU enlargement; the second Annual Soderkoping Senior Level meeting to review progress to date; and a follow-up working-level seminar for Belarus, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine.