Migration in the Black Sea Region: International Seminar

The general region encompassing the eastern edge of the expanding European Union and the Black Sea area presents special challenges in the management of migration. This general region is also defined in part through several regional groupings that have relevance to migration matters, including the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), the South-East Europe Cooperation Process (SEECP), and the Southeast European Cooperative Initiative (SECI). This seminar, an initiative of the Romanian Government, brought together the membership of these three organizations for the two days of discussion, information-sharing and joint direction-setting in key areas of migration management affecting this particular region. Among the issues addressed were the following: migration and security, labour migration, migration and public health, irregular migration, and trafficking in human beings. Experts from the participating countries and organizations and from IOM reviewed current migration scenarios in the region to identify specific areas for further cooperative action. In the planning stages, consideration was given to expanding the participation to include other candidate countries and other relevant organizations.

Among the anticipated outcomes was further definition and clarity on the most beneficial role of IOM in relation to the common migration management challenges in this particular region.