EMN Sweden and EMN Belgium joint seminar on migration and development cooperation

EMN Sweden and EMN Belgium together with the Swedish Expert Group for Aid Studies (EBA) and the Swedish Migration Studies Delegation (Delmi), co-hosted an EU launch seminar “Linking Migration and Development Cooperation: European Experiences and Policy Reflections” at the Permanent Representation of Belgium to the EU in Brussels on 4 June 2026. The EU launch seminar follows a Nordic seminar in Stockholm in April 2026.

The seminar brought together a broad audience of around 80 participants from public authorities, the European Commission, international organisations, academia, think tanks, civil society, diaspora organisations, embassies and permanent representations.

The seminar highlighted the value of bringing together research, policy, and practice to foster evidence-based and realistic discussions on the migration–development nexus. Participants explored how national experiences can inform broader European debates, covering topics ranging from public-private partnerships and diaspora investments to Skills Mobility Partnerships, migration conditionality, and the role of the private sector.

Background and opening remarks

The event marked the EU launch of the anthology "Linking Migration and Development: European Experiences and Policy Lessons for Sweden". Building on the 2024 EMN inform “Migration and development cooperation”, outlined by EMN Sweden and EMN Belgium together with 20 EMN Member Countries and Serbia, the anthology examines how Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, and Germany have approached the links between migration policy and development cooperation over the past decade.

Hugo Verbist, Special Envoy for Migration at the Belgian Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation welcomed the participants. He highlighted EMN’s role in providing reliable information and supporting evidence-based policymaking, referred to the 2024 EMN inform as an important basis for the discussions. He underlined the importance of well-governed migration, sustainable development, multilateralism and strong partnerships with third countries.

European perspective: Migration and development

Bogdana Sybikowska from the Directorate-General Migration & Home Affairs (DG HOME), European Commission and Samuel Simon Pulido from the Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA), both from the European Commission, presented EU priorities for external migration engagement in the context of the Pact on Migration and Asylum. They addressed key elements of the Pact, including screening, border procedures, solidarity, returns and safeguards for fundamental rights, as well as cooperation with third countries on migration governance, legal pathways, return, readmission and reintegration.

Framing the anthology

The anthology was introduced by its editors Iris Luthman and Henrik Malm Lindberg from Delmi, together with Mats Hårsmar from EBA. One of the key insights from the presentation was not whether migration and development are linked, but the shift from a broad development-oriented nexus to a more operational migration-governance agenda and its possible effects.

While approaches differ significantly across Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Norway, the four countries are comparable to learn from and different enough to reveal choices. Overall, the anthology underscores that coordination alone is not enough. While whole-of-government approaches can bring actors together, true coherence requires clear priorities, aligned incentives, and greater transparency about trade-offs.

Country perspectives from the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium

The country perspectives illustrated how different national approaches have been developed in practice.

Arjen Leerkes, Professor of Migration, Securitisation and Social Cohesion at the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance and co-author of the Dutch chapter in the anthology presented the Dutch experience. The development cooperation has increasingly been used as part of migration governance, including through return and reintegration initiatives, information campaigns and mobility partnerships. He underlined that expectations should remain realistic, as the impact of such instruments and linkages on migration dynamics require careful design, transparency and realistic expectations.

Anna Knoll, Head of the Migration and Mobility Team at the European Centre for Development Policy Management and author of the German chapter, presented Germany’s whole-of-government approach, while preserving distinct institutional mandates. What appears to have mattered in the German case is not the absence of tensions, but the ability to manage them within broader development partnerships. At the same time, while labour mobility generated valuable learning, systematic migration effects remain uncertain and difficult to measure.

Raffaella Greco Tonegutti, Coordinator Human Mobility, the Belgian Development Agency (Enabel) presented the Belgian perspective on development cooperation. She highlighted Enabel’s role in supporting partner countries to govern migration and displacement in ways that strengthen their development potential and reduce related risks. She also underlined the importance of a whole-of-government approach, including in areas such as sustainable reintegration, labour mobility, diaspora engagement, among others.

The panel discussion

During the afternoon, a policy-oriented discussion, moderated by Hanne Beirens, Visiting Professor at the College of Europe, took place. The panel discussion featured Melissa Siegel, Professor of Migration Studies and Head of Migration Studies at the Maastricht Graduate School of Governance and co-author of the Dutch chapter in the anthology, Jonathan Chaloff, Senior Policy Analyst, International Migration Division, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Jason Gagnon, Senior Advisor; Research Affiliate, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, who have explored how European countries are tackling these linkages. A follow-up discussion and exchanges with participants further enriched the debate.

Participants stressed the need to better align migration systems with development cooperation through stronger operational frameworks and long-term partnerships. Discussions highlighted the importance of relational capital, the role of public–private partnerships, and the need to scale up legal pathways and mobility programmes to achieve meaningful impact.

Some takeaways:

• Beyond funding, development cooperation helps build trust and credibility for long-term partnerships, which are often as important as formal policy instruments for sustained migration partnerships.
• Financial assistance alone rarely delivers results; sustained political commitment is equally important. Migration objectives are closely linked to broader issues such as demographics, labour markets, and trade.
• Effective migration partnerships require realistic expectations about what can be achieved, over what timeframe, and for whose development benefit.
• A need to strengthen engagement with diaspora communities and enhance the role of migration liaison officers.
• A need for policy coherence between Skills Mobility Partnerships, migrant support centres, climate adaptation planning, and labour market integration initiatives.
  

In his closing remarks, Hugo Rickberg, Senior expert in migration and development cooperation at the Swedish Migration Agency, thanked the participants, underscoring the importance of the topic. He expressed hope that today’s discussions would inspire continued reflection, research, and knowledge exchange, especially in the light of the implementation of the new pact on asylum and migration.

The photos are taken by Adelina Dankova, unless otherwise stated.