EU, IOM Senior Officials in Brussels for Eleventh Strategic Cooperation Meeting on Migration

Brussels, 04 April 2025 – Senior officials from the European Union (EU) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) met in Brussels today for their eleventh annual meeting under the EU-IOM Strategic Cooperation Framework.    

The high-level exchange – co-chaired by Acting Director-General for Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission, Beate Gminder, and IOM Director General Amy Pope – centred on the importance of the strategic partnership between the EU and IOM to ensure well-managed migration policies that respond to emerging global challenges.  

IOM Director General Amy Pope commended the EU’s long-standing support and reaffirmed IOM’s commitment to the dialogue and working with the EU on all aspects of migration and mobility.  

“The partnership between IOM and the EU has been fundamental to serving the most vulnerable people in the world and assisting States to manage migration in a safe, orderly, and effective way,” said DG Pope. “More than ever, our cooperation needs to deliver. It should be focused, global in scope and comprehensive in practice.”   

Acting DG Gminder emphasized how the historic agreement on the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum will contribute to more predictable and sustainable migration management and better rights protection in the EU, thanking IOM for its longstanding support.  She stressed the importance of continued cooperation in delivering on agreed policy and operational priorities working with partner countries along the migration routes to the EU.   

“The International Organization for Migration is a key partner in our efforts to strengthen migration governance in the EU, to work towards safe, orderly and regular migration globally, and for finding and implementing sustainable solutions for existing and future challenges,” said B. Gminder.   

Among the issues addressed, the senior officials focused on the latest developments in Ukraine, Syria and the region, a route-based approach to migration governance, effective return and reintegration in line with European and international law, and promoting regular pathways for migration.    

Both sides also exchanged views on the new political and funding environment, confirming the EU as a strong and stable donor given its commitment to a strong multilateral system with the United Nations at its centre.  

The EU and IOM agreed that enhanced partnerships and cooperation between countries are vital to address issues comprehensively at different points along the routes. This includes providing emergency assistance, humanitarian aid and protection, offering durable solutions to internal displacement, innovative approaches to climate mobility, and enhancing safe, regular pathways for migrants and displaced people, addressing irregular migratory flows and combating smuggling of migrants and trafficking in human beings.   

Overall European Commission funding to IOM reached over EUR 590 million in 2024. Together with its Member States, the EU continues to be IOM’s key donor.   

The EU-IOM meeting was hosted by the Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs (DG HOME). IOM Director General Amy Pope and senior IOM officials joined senior representatives from the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO), the Directorate-General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood (DG ENEST), the Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA), the Directorate-General for Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf (DG MENA) and the European External Action Service (EEAS). On this occasion, DG MENA’s and DG ENEST’s participation in the Strategic Cooperation was also announced.  

Background     

In July 2012, the EU and IOM established a Strategic Cooperation Framework to enhance dialogue and collaboration on migration, development, humanitarian response and human rights issues. This built on their shared interest in bringing the benefits of well-managed international migration to migrants and society. Today’s meeting, the eleventh of its kind since the launch of the Strategic Cooperation, was one of the high-level discussions that advance cooperation between the two organizations. The first EU-IOM Senior Officials Meeting under the Strategic Cooperation Framework was held in Brussels on 3 May 2013.   

For more information, please contact:  

In Brussels: Ryan Schroeder, rschroeder@iom.int