Commissioner Brunner meets Expert Group on Migrants' Views to advance EU migration policies

On 30 September,Commissioner Brunner convened the 14th meeting of the Commission Expert Group on the views of migrants, focusing on the implementation of the Pact on Migration and Asylum and the protection of migrant workers' rights in the EU. This meeting marks the first encounter between Commissioner Brunner and the Expert Group, which plays a major role in advising the European Commission on migration policies from the perspective of migrants.

The Expert Group, composed of representatives of migrant organisations or migration experts in their personal capacity, provides invaluable insights to the Commission on the design and implementation of migration policies. As most experts have lived migration experience themselves, the expert group's contributions help ensuring that EU policies are effective and address real needs.

Commissioner Brunner opened the two-day meeting, outlining the Commission's priorities around migration under the current mandate and underlining how the expert group could play an important role in their implementation.

The discussion then focused on the implementation of the Pact on Migration and Asylum, resettlement, and the protection of migrant workers' rights.

The Expert Group's role

The Expert Group was established in late 2020 as part of the Action Plan on Integration and Inclusion 2021-2027. It consists of 22 experts, most of whom have a migrant background, providing firsthand experience of the issues migrants face. The Group has been instrumental in providing feedback on a diverse range of migration-related topics, including asylum procedures, trafficking in human beings, legal pathways, integration, and the implementation of the Pact on Migration and Asylum.

The discussions held by the Expert Group allow testing of policy ideas and approaches against real-world experiences, seeking evidence and learning about good practices. The Group serves as a testbed for novel approaches and counts as a stakeholder consultation in accordance with the Better Regulation guidelines.