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The AIR-SEAL project proposes the development of a second generation RFID security seal, capable of monitoring the integrity of an aircraft galley trolley or transportation vehicle. Since the September 11th terrorism attacks in the United States, catering services through-out the world have been seen as the weakest link in the aviation industry’s service supply chain. Existing sealing technologies are time consuming, ineffective and require a complex paper trail. A reusable and retro-fit, electronic sealing device is therefore required with an ultra-low profile. This new technology will enable the automatic sealing and inspections of galley trolleys, while improving their security by utilising a digital, anti-tamper volumetric sensor. With an initial market value of €120million retrofitting the technology and an additional €24milion per year in new trolleys, this market has the potential of significant economic returns. Beyond the catering industry this technology will enable international logistics services and all of the SMEs operating within a secure supply chain to seal their vehicles and reduce their operating costs. Supported by a location dependant (Galileo) tag interrogator and central ICT database, a pair of smart tags will be used to seal and monitor unauthorised access to a trolley, based on a received signal strength indication technology. Upon an authorised activation, the novel security seal will transmit its location and a randomly generated locking number to a central database, using a mobile GPRS communication link in the tag interrogator. By cross-referencing the tag and database values using a standard RFID reader, a security official may ensure that a seal has not been tampered with or replaced. A multi-lingual and bi-colour passive RF display will be installed onto each door of the trolley, for a visual indication of the seal status. Alternatively a RFID reader may be used for an automatic, long range inspection.

The ESIRAS project aims at establishing at municipal level Integration Centres providing information and training to asylum seekers and refugees to facilitate their integration in society and the labour market.

Applications for international protection significantly increased in Luxembourg from August 2015 onwards, the total number of applications in fact more than doubling when compared to the previous year (2.447 applicants in 2015; 1.091 in 2014). The number of applications remained high in 2016 (2.035 applications) and 2017 (2.322 applications) albeit slightly decreasing when compared to 2015. These figures are not unprecedented. The number of applications introduced in Luxembourg have fluctuated since 1999, the peaks and declines correlating with specific events. Luxembourg received 2.920 applications for international protection in 1999, an effect of the conflict in Kosovo. Later, the country saw two more peaks in applications after the turn of the century (2003 and 2004 with 1.550 and 1.577 applications respectively, 2011 and 2012 with 2.171 and 2.057 applications respectively). On the other hand, 2005 to 2010 can be characterised as a period of relative calm.The current period of higher arrivals of applicants for international protection is characterised by a change in cultural profile. Previously, most of the time, a majority of people applying for international protection in Luxembourg stemmed from European countries. The influx of applicants in 2015 and 2016 was characterised by the arrival of people stemming from Arabic-speaking countries, populations which had been relatively small in Luxembourg up to that point.While not necessarily unprecedented in magnitude,high numbers of monthly arrivals, especially in the last months of 2015, put those in charge of registering applications as well as of housing and providing social follow-up to the test and led to a number of measures being taken.Generally speaking, fromthe beginning of the increased arrivals in Luxembourg in 2015, the government adopted a relatively open and welcoming position. This position is illustrated for instance in the government’s stance in favour of a solution for the reception of applicants for international protection that is based on European solidarity and the government’s investment in relocation and resettlement.

Examines the protection of the human rights of migrants, placing Romania primarily as a country of origin and transit of migration flows, but also a country where labour immigration and asylum-seeking are emerging trends.

This report presents the main findings of the European Migration Network (EMN) study on the application of the Temporary Protection Directive (2001/55/EC) in 2023. The study explores some developments, challenges, and good practices relevant to the application of the Temporary Protection Directive (TPD) in EMN Member Countries in the first half of 2023. Since 24 February 2022, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has created a situation of mass arrivals of displaced people from Ukraine to the European Union (EU) and other countries surrounding Ukraine. The war caused large flows of people to leave Ukraine in search of safety, with crossings at EU external borders peaking at 800 000 weekly entries from Ukraine and Moldova during the early months of the war.4 The EU Member States bordering Ukraine and Moldova were the first to respond to the crisis. Following the call of Minis- ters for Home Affairs, on 2 March 2022, the European Commission proposed to activate the TPD. On 4 March 2022, the Council adopted an Implementing Decision7 establishing temporary protection for displaced persons from Ukraine, activating the TPD for the first time since its adoption in 2001. This was a key component of the EU’s unified response. As per Article 2(2) of the Council Decision, temporary protection covers not only displaced Ukrainian nationals re- siding in Ukraine on or before 24 February 2022 and their family members, but also stateless persons and nationals of third countries other than Ukraine who benefitted from international protection or equivalent national protection in Ukraine before 24 February 2022 and their family members. As per Article 2(2) of the Council Decision, EU Member States should provide either temporary protection or adequate protection under national law to stateless persons and nationals of third countries other than Ukraine legally residing in Ukraine before 24 February 2022 on the basis of a valid permanent residence permit issued in accordance with Ukrainian law, and who were unable to return in safe and durable conditions to their country or re- gion of origin. Article 2(3) gives Member States the option to provide temporary protection to other persons, including stateless persons and nationals of third countries other than Ukraine who were residing legally in Ukraine and who are unable to return in safe and durable conditions to their country or region of origin. Several EU Member States also extended the scope by providing temporary protection to Ukrainian nationals already legally present in that EU Member State and to those who moved shortly before 24 February 2022. In accordance with Article 4(1) of the TPD, the duration of temporary protection is of a period of one year. Unless ter- minated under the terms of the Directive, the duration may be – and indeed has been – automatically extended by six-month periods for a maximum of one year, i.e. to March 2024. The European Commission’s Operational Guidelines9 recommended that EU Member States issue residence permits for the full possible duration of two years, i.e. until March 2024. After the first automatic extension until March 2024, the Council of the European Union announced on 28 September 2023 that temporary protection would be extended until 4 March 2025 and on the 25 September 2024 another extension was granted until 4 March 2026

Moldova is at the stage of elaborating the new legal framework that covers the migration domain. The most important challenge faced by Moldova at the moment is to see how all these legal acts will be implemented in practice, i.e. how they will be interpreted and understood by authorities responsible for their direct application. Another issue is if European standards transposed into legislation will fill the existing gaps, if the state is willing to commit politically and financially, and if the Law will work in practice. An example here might be the tolerated stay, which is a new notion for Moldova, the introduction of which aims at avoiding abuses of the asylum system or solving, for a short period of time, the situation of stateless persons. In order to improve the coordination and supervision mechanism of central public authorities vested with duties related to migration management, the Government, by its Decision No. 133 of 23.02.2010, established the Commission for the Coordination of Certain Activities relating to the Migration Process which is a permanent consultative body to the Government, assuring the monitoring of and cooperation between the relevant authorities. Moldova is at the stage of elaborating the new legal framework that covers the migration domain. The most important challenge faced by Moldova at the moment is to see how all these legal acts will be implemented in practice, i.e. how they will be interpreted and understood by authorities responsible for their direct application. Another issue is if European standards transposed into legislation will fill the existing gaps, if the state is willing to commit politically and financially, and if the Law will work in practice. An example here might be the tolerated stay, which is a new notion for Moldova, the introduction of which aims at avoiding abuses of the asylum system or solving, for a short period of time, the situation of stateless persons. In order to improve the coordination and supervision mechanism of central public authorities vested with duties related to migration management, the Government, by its Decision No. 133 of 23.02.2010, established the Commission for the Coordination of Certain Activities relating to the Migration Process which is a permanent consultative body to the Government, assuring the monitoring of and cooperation between the relevant authorities. Moldova is at the stage of elaborating the new legal framework that covers the migration domain. The most important challenge faced by Moldova at the moment is to see how all these legal acts will be implemented in practice, i.e. how they will be interpreted and understood by authorities responsible for their direct application. Another issue is if European standards transposed into legislation will fill the existing gaps, if the state is willing to commit politically and financially, and if the Law will work in practice. An example here might be the tolerated stay, which is a new notion for Moldova, the introduction of which aims at avoiding abuses of the asylum system or solving, for a short period of time, the situation of stateless persons. In order to improve the coordination and supervision mechanism of central public authorities vested with duties related to migration management, the Government, by its Decision No. 133 of 23.02.2010, established the Commission for the Coordination of Certain Activities relating to the Migration Process which is a permanent consultative body to the Government, assuring the monitoring of and cooperation between the relevant authorities.

This research report seeks to shed more light on the current flow of Syrian asylum seekers to Europe.Since the outbreak of the conflict in Syria, it is estimated that millions of people have fled their homes.As of October 2015, 700,000 of them have declared asylum in the European Union. Although most European states that are receiving Syrian refugees have signed and ratified the 1951 Convention, it is a challenge to guarantee refugeesﾒ basic rights: given the lack of money, the lack of an infrastructure to manage large and sudden influxes; and, above all, unclear political strategies. The flawed response is also generated by a failure to understand the factors that are leading Syrian families to make such a dangerous journey to Europe, factors that push them to waste all their savings and jump on boats leading them to unknown lands. Indeed, despite the high political and humanitarian interest around growing global migration levels, there are very few systems in place to monitor the migration flows, especially in the Middle East and towards Europe. Our knowledge of irregular migration is often plagued with fragmented perspectives on the socio-cultural dynamics of the journey, the smugglertraveller relationship and their community dimensions. Moreover, there is no exhaustive data collection to support humanitarian organization programmes in terms of easing the movement of refugees, safely and with dignity. The lack of systematic investigation of migration in Europe and in the Middle East generates fears and misconceptions among the population at large; while, in order to respond effectively to the emergency, more evidence-based knowledge is urgently needed to share as widely as possible. The present report aims at filling this information gap through systematic and participatory data collection exercises. It reports data and information from Syrian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon about push and pull factors, protection risks and threats, and the availability of information before and during their journey across the Balkans.

This study presents policies, practices and statistics on unaccompanied minor asylum seekers from arrival until settlement or return. It is a contribution to a comparative study by the European Migration Network.