The Kick-off Workshop of the Pilot Project 1 was held in Lvov, Ukraine, on 8–9 November 2012, and gathered 29 representatives of Prague Process 15 countries, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD). During the kick-off event various aspects of the Project were discussed jointly by all participants. The first day of the meeting was, above all, focused on the exchange of basic information on migration profiles of the participating states relating to illegal migration and specifically readmission and return policies (tour-de-table session). The working method to be applied in the course of implementation of the Pilot Project 1 and the Work Plan were presented and discussed during the second day of the Workshop. The meeting finished with a short tour-de-table with an attempt to evaluate it and sum up its outcomes.The meeting proved that for the participating states one of the most important problems concerning readmission and returns is effective cooperation with countries of origin. Most of the PP1 participating states are transit countries and thus share similar problems deriving from this status. In the recent period, an increased immigration from Asia and Africa was noted almost in every participating state. Some of the speakers raised the issue of the importance of combating of human smuggling in fighting illegal migration and also in the context of organising returns.The 1st Thematic Workshop within the PP1 will take place in Warsaw on 11–12 March 2013.
