Working Group on the External Aspects of Asylum and Migration

The Working Group on the External Aspects of Asylum and Migration is responsible for discussions on The EU’s strategy for countries and regions such as asylum seekers and migrants comes from and travels through And Countries outside the European Union that receive refugees, without any geographic restrictions.

Mission

The working group provides guidance on whether the external dimension of EU asylum and migration policy can be enhanced and how to improve cooperation with non-EU countries in the field of migration.

The group also discusses how to better coherence the efforts of member states and the European Union, including through their joint activities and facilitation of information exchange between member states.

In addition, it discusses, evaluates and The working group guides the EU’s cooperation with other parties.

The work focuses specifically on issues related to

• Creation and monitoring of specific initiatives for countries and geographical areas outside the European Union; This includes inviting the European Commission and the diplomatic community to propose new joint initiatives, for example action plans, partnerships, dialogues, strategies or road maps.
• Define EU positions and approaches in ongoing dialogues on migration with non-EU countries
• prioritizing the EU’s participation in joint initiatives of regional dialogues or international organizations, as well as monitoring the results of these initiatives;
• Regular preparations for specific initiatives for countries outside the EU, including official visits by the European Commission, the European Agency for European Affairs and EU agencies
• Defining the strategic priorities of the EU’s financing instruments in areas relevant to the EU’s asylum and external migration policy; This also means regular updating of existing financial instruments for dialogues with third parties

The working group is affiliated with the General Council. In order to avoid duplication of work, the group carries out its tasks in close coordination with some other preparatory bodies within the council, namely: