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Since early 2011, an EU funded project implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the International Center for Human Development Think Tank has worked to enhance the management of labour migration flows from Armenia to the EU. In order to improve Armenian officials' knowledge of EU migration legislation, on 19-20 October the project will hold for the first time a specific training on the EU Acquis on Migration.
With the EU-Armenia negotiations on a Mobility Partnership, as well as the possibility to start negotiations on EU-Armenia visa facilitation and readmission agreements, better knowledge of the EU legal body on migration is particularly timely. The training touches upon the EU Common Asylum Policy, free movement in the EU, regular and irregular migration in the EU, as well as human rights protection in the EU, including focus on economic and social rights, health and safety at work. This builds on a previous training held on 5 - 7 October 2011 in Yerevan, which concentrated on Bilateral, Regional and Multilateral Arrangements for Labour Migration. Its aim was to build government officials' capacity to better manage labour migration through inter-state cooperation. Both trainings are organized in close cooperation with the International Migration Law Unit of IOM Headquarters.
The "Strengthening Evidence-Based Management of Labour Migration in Armenia" project focuses on enabling an environment for circular migration of Armenian workers and raising awareness for possible approximation of legislation on migration management with the EU acquis. Activities are interlinked and include policy advice, institutional capacity building, training, and awareness raising. It is funded by the European Commission thematic programme for cooperation with third countries in the areas of migration and asylum with 1950000 Euro.
The project also aims at promoting bilateral labour agreements between the government of Armenia and governments of destination countries in the EU by mediating such agreements based on international best practices. With regard to EU, the Mobility Partnership, as a tool of the Global Approach to Migration, can be an instrument to foster migration and development, including facilitated labour migration arrangements
The IOM Head of Office Ms. Ilona Ter-Minasyan said that this is the first time a training programme on the EU Acquis on Migration was offered to a multi-disciplinary audience composed of representatives from bodies involved in migration management. Thanks to the training programme, officials dealing with migration management are expected to not only acquire better understanding of EU legislation on migration but will be able to see the overall vision of the importance of EU Acquis approximation and will ultimately better manage labour migration replacing irregular migration with legal labour migration.
