The Strategic Committee on Immigration, Frontiers and Asylum (SCIFA) was set up following the entry into force of the Amsterdam Treaty in 1999. In 2011 it was described by the Council’s General Secretariat as “an invaluable network for senior officials acting in politically sensitive and fast-developing EU policy field to find solutions to interrelated problems.” In 2015 it was granted a role in overseeing plans “to promote coherence between internal and external aspects of migration.”
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Please note: All documents listed (whether officially numbered or referred to otherwise, for example as a presentation) have been requested by Statewatch. If there is a link to the document, the request was successful or it has been obtained via other means. If there is no link to a document, the request is still pending. Where access has been refused or only partial access has been granted a note is included. Text in square brackets is an addition to the original agenda.
Format 2+2
MIXED COMMITTEE
1. Adoption of the agenda
2. Operationalisation and implementation of the Migration and Asylum Pact – Schengen
relevant issues: update and state of play
- Presentation by the Commission
= Exchange of views
3. Making the return systems more effective: challenges linked to public safety and national security
= Exchange of views
13170/24 (to be issued)
STRATEGIC COMMITTEE ON IMMIGRATION FRONTIERS AND ASYLUM
4. Operationalisation and implementation of the Migration and Asylum Pact: update and state of play
- Presentation by the Commission
= Exchange of views
5. Ukrainian temporary protection beneficiaries in the EU: state of play
= Exchange of views
13171/24 (to be issued)
6. Any other business
Format 2+2
MIXED COMMITTEE
1. Adoption of the agenda
2. Operationalisation and implementation of the Migration and Asylum Pact – Schengen relevant aspects
- Presentation by the Commission of the next steps
= Exchange of views
8015/24 (to be issued)
3. Making the return systems more effective: a reflection towards the future of the EU return policy
= Exchange of views
8016/24 (to be issued)
STRATEGIC COMMITTEE ON IMMIGRATION FRONTIERS AND ASYLUM
4. Operationalisation and implementation of the Migration and Asylum Pact
Presentation by the Commission of the next steps
= Exchange of views
8015/24 (to be issued)
[See: EU: Council eyes role in “operationalising” the Pact on Migration and Asylum]
5. Any other business
• Information exchange between counter-terrorism authorities and migration and asylum authorities
- Presidency report of discussion at TWP of 4/3/2024
• Discussion on EU-Armenia visa liberalization
- Information by the Czech delegation.
1. Adoption of the agenda
2. Evaluation of the EBCG Regulation
– Presentation by the Commission
= Exchange of views
6148/24 [Final report on the evaluation of the European Border and Coast Guard Regulation - Discussion paper. Designed to frame discussion in SCIFA on the evaluation of Frontex, it notes: "The evaluation identified a number of challenges that currently limit the effectiveness of the Regulation, though most of the identified challenges do not stem from the Regulation itself but are the result of organisational, technical or operational shortcomings."]
5490/24 + ADD 1-ADD 2 [Commission report on the external evaluation, the action plan to support implementation of the Frontex Regulation, and the external evaluation itself]
3. Migration and asylum situation
– Presentation by the Commission and agencies on the situational picture
– Presentation by the agencies of the Joint Analysis on “Secondary Movements with a Regional Focus”
6095/24 [Annual overview of the migratory situation 2023: "Against the backdrop of the migratory situation at the EU’s external borders in 2023 as outlined in the below background paper and guiding question for the exchange of views, the Presidency proposes to discuss the main migratory challenges in the short term."]
WK 595/2024 INIT
4. Pact on Migration and Asylum – State of play and next steps
– Information by the Presidency and the Commission
5. Convergence of asylum decisions
– Presentation by the EUAA of the main findings of the “Pilot Convergence Analysis 2023”
= Exchange of views
6029/24 [Convergence of decisions on applications for international protection - Discussion paper: "This paper provides an overview of the main results of the EUAA pilot study on convergence. Against this background, delegations are invited for a first general reflection on further ways forward towards greater convergence, and the nexus between convergence and the implementation."]
of the Pact.
WK 1800/2024 INIT [EU Asylum Agency, Pilot Convergence Analysis 2023 - Final Report: "…the analysis offers unprecedented insights into the current state of the CEAS and an evidenced-based [sic] roadmap to further convergence."]
6. Any other business
1. Adoption of the agenda
2. Making the return systems more effective = Exchange of views
= Exchange of views
15242/23
[The document, entitled, 'Making the return systems more effective - Discussion paper', was produced by the Spanish Council Presidency. It discusses a number of issues concerning "the internal dimension of returns". Statewatch previously reported on a related document: Deportations: "European return decision" in the works]
3. Way forward on the legal status of beneficiaries of temporary protection after 4 March 2025
= Exchange of views
15241/23
[The document is a note from the Spanish Council Presidency setting out the rights granted to Ukrainians under the Temporary Protection Directive. It notes a number of issues with granting temporary protection to such a large number of people but indicates support for the move, including after 2025 when the decision under the Temporary Protection Directive is due to expire. Member states are asked for their views on the matter.]
4. Financing of the external dimension of migration
= Exchange of views
15244/23
[The document is a Spanish Presidency discussion paper that notes the need for increased funds for externalisation "to maintain our credibility vis-à-vis our partner countries of origin and transit". It notes that the numerous different budgets available for externalisation make monitoring and analysis difficult: "It is not always easy to know how much migration funding a third country is receiving at any given time." The document also calls for investment in the Spanish Presidency's proposed "preventive model", reported on by Statewatch previously: Spanish Presidency: more funds needed for border externalisation if EU is to stay "credible vis-à-vis key third countries"]
5. Proposal for a Regulation establishing the EU Talent Pool
= Presentation by the Commission
15550/23 + ADD 1, ADD 2, ADD 3, ADD 4, ADD 5
6. Supporting Member States on talent attraction and labour market inclusion: the Spanish example
= Presentation of by the Commission and the Spanish Ministry of Social Inclusion
7. Priorities of the incoming Belgium Presidency
8. Any other business
Operational Coordination Mechanism on the External Dimension of Migration (MOCADEM)
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