On 11 March, Georgia’s Ministry of Justice reported that Georgia together with Moldova joined the European Migration Network as an observer, marking the first countries outside the Euro-Atlantic area who have joined this network, reported 1TV.

It was stressed that a working agreement with the European Commission has already been signed. The agreement represents an important step towards reinforced cooperation in the areas of migration and asylum and establishes the conditions of administrative cooperation between the European Commission and Georgia that accommodate both current and future co-operation needs.

“In order to manage migration better, it is important to increase EU cooperation with third countries. This was emphasised in the New Pact on Migration and Asylum. Having Georgia as a part of the European Migration Network will enable us to share our European good practices in managing migration while getting a better understanding of migration from a Caucasus perspective,” stated the Director General of the Directorate for Migration and Home Affairs of the European Commission Monique Pariat.

“Development of the migration management system is an important pillar of Georgia’s integration with the European Union. Therefore, the policy is based on the principle of ‘migration and development,’ emphasising research, expert exchanges, analysis on modern migratory trends and means for reaction – everything in which the European Migration Network is advanced in,” said Georgia’s Justice Minister Gocha Lordkipanidze.

The European Migration Network (EMN) is a Europe-wide network consisting of National Contact Points (NCPs) in the EU Member States and Norway, providing information on migration and asylum. The EMN was set up in 2008 by the European Commission on behalf of the European Council in order to satisfy the need for a regular exchange of reliable information on migration and asylum related issues on a European level. The possibility to cooperate with third countries is foreseen in the Council decision on establishing a European Migration Network.