General information The objective of the European Migration Network (EMN) is to meet the information needs of the European Community institutions and of Member States’ (MS) authorities by providing up-to-date, objective, reliable and comparable information on migration and asylum, with a view to support policy-making in the European Union in these areas. The first initiative to its establishment came from the 2001 Laeken European Council which invited the European Commission to consider the "development of a European system for exchanging information on asylum, migration and countries of origin". As a result, the European Migration Network was launched in 2003 as a pilot project and subsequently as a preparatory action. This led to the creation of a permanent structure under the legal framework of the Council Decision 2008/381/EC adopted on 14 May 2008.

The EMN is composed of National Contact Points (NCPs) which, in cooperation and coordination with the European Commission (the Directorate General for Justice, Freedom and Security), fulfil the tasks and objectives of the EMN. EMN NCPs, designated by their MS government, consist primarily of Ministries of Interior and of Justice; plus research institutes; non-governmental organizations; and national offices of an international organization, all active in the field of asylum and migration. At the same time, the NCPs are creating broader national networks consisting of other national institutions and organizations involved in this field. A Steering Board, chaired by the European Commission and consisting of one representative from each MS plus the European Parliament, provides political guidance on the activities of the EMN.

The EMN responds to information needs of European Commission or MS through elaboration of specific reports, studies and ad-hoc queries. This is done not via primary research but through bringing together, analysing and making accessible already available data and information. The EMN also aims to improve the availability, comparability and harmonisation of existing information, as well as contributing to evidence-based policy-making. EMN activities are assigned in the Annual Work Programme approved by the EMN Steering Board every year.

Each year EMN prepares the following outputs:

• Annual Migration and Asylum Policy Report, which outlines the most significant political and legislative (including EU) developments, as well as public debates in the area of migration and asylum, within the MS (and on the EU level) for the respective year,
• Annual Report on Asylum and Migration Statistics for the previous year;
• Three studies on topics which are of interest for policy makers in all MS and have not been covered in previous studies or relevant research. The topics are selected based on proposals from the MS and the ES. Following the National Reports elaborated by the NCPs, European Commission produces a Synthesis Report bringing together the main findings from the National Reports and placing them within an EU perspective (e.g. by linking them to recent policy initiatives);
• Responses and compilations of responses to ad hoc queries. The instrument of ad hoc queries allows MS to exchange concrete, relevant and up-to-date information in the field of asylum and migration.

EMN is also gathering information on legal, demographic, economic, social, and political dimensions of migration including national legislation, case-law, publications, and contact details of EMN NCPs and their national network members, as well as links to other relevant information sources. In order to collect this information an EMN Glossary and Thesaurus is being developed. The glossary uses terms, and their definitions, from a variety of sources, primarily those given in the EU asylum and immigration acquis.

Further information including results of EMN activities (e.g. national studies, synthesis reports) can be found on http://emn.sarenet.es.

European Migration Network in the Slovak Republic

The Slovak Republic participated in the pilot and preparatory activities of the European Migration Network (EMN) since 2003. Until 2008 the Academy of the Police Force acted as the coordinator of the EMN National Contact Point (NCP). In December 2008 this responsibility was taken over by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Office in the Slovak Republic, based on the Memorandum of Cooperation between the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic and IOM. EMN activities are financed from the operational grant provided by the European Commission and co-funded by the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic.

The EMN NCP in the Slovak Republic is composed of the following institutions and organisations:

• Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic – Bureau of Alien and Border Police, Migration Office, Section of Legislation and External Relations;
• Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family of the Slovak Republic – Department for Migration and Foreigner Integration of the Section for International Relations;
• Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic;
• IOM Office in the Slovak Republic.

EMN Work Programme for 2009, endorsed by the EMN Steering Board, lists the following activities which will be conducted by the Slovak EMN NCP:

• Elaboration of the Annual Migration and Asylum Policy Report 2008 and the Annual Report on Migration and Asylum Statistics 2007;
• Elaboration of the study „Policies on reception, return and integration arrangements for, and numbers of, unaccompanied minors in the Slovak Republic;“
• Elaboration of the study „The different national practices concerning granting of non-EU harmonised protection statuses in the Slovak Republic;"
• Elaboration of the study "Programmes and Strategies in the EU Member States fostering Assisted Return to and Reintegration in Third Countries;"
• Preparation of the responses of the Slovak Republic to ad-hoc queries, submission of ad-hoc queries, preparation of responses compilations to ad-hoc queries submitted by the Slovak Republic;
• Preparation of a website (in Slovak and English), an information leaflet and an electronic bulletin on EMN activities in order to provide information and outputs of EMN activities to professionals and experts in the field of migration and asylum as well as to the wider public;
• Preparation and participation in twinning meetings with NCPs from other EU Member States with the aim to exchange information and experience in the fields covered by EMN activities and other migration related issues.
• Preparation of the meetings of the National Migration Network, which is composed of various institutions and organisations active in the field of migration and asylum in the Slovak Republic with the aim to provide information on the EMN activities and possibly involve these institutions in the EMN activities;
• Provision of data to the EMN Information Exchange System.

Within the EMN activities Slovak Republic prepared so far:

• Annual Report on Migration and Asylum Statistics 2006;
• Study “Organisation of Asylum and Migration Policies in the Slovak Republic.”

The EMN outputs can be found in the section Documents.

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