How do EMN Member Countries design and implement migration strategies?

A migration strategy sets out a country’s strategic approach to migration policy, establishing the rationale behind government actions on migration within a formal, medium to long-term policy framework. Such strategies can be valuable tools in migration governance and are common in EMN member and OECD countries. Their importance has grown recently. The Asylum and Migration Management Regulation, part of the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, requires EU Member States to establish national strategies by June 2025, to show capacity to run effective asylum and migration management systems.

This EMN Ireland Migration Memo looks at national strategies introduced since 2018 and provides a comparative overview of how EMN countries are designing, implementing, monitoring and communicating their overarching and sectoral migration strategies, outlining good practices that could be useful in the Irish context.

Key takeaways

• Most EMN Member Countries have migration strategies in place, with many having both overarching and sectoral strategies.

• Challenges identified include limited financial resources, insufficient involvement of migrant groups, and difficulties in stakeholder coordination. Good practices identified involve effective coordination mechanisms and broad consultation processes.

• Strategies are monitored by various institutions, often the same ones that developed them. Effective communication plans are important, with some countries like the Czech Republic having dedicated communication strategies to inform the public and stakeholders about migration.