From the 12th to the 13th of February 2016, in the framework of Objective 2, the Prague Process Secretariat organised a Prague Process National Contact Points’ meeting on the Knowledge base, data collection and analysis. Hosted by the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Bulgaria, the meeting took place in Sofia, Bulgaria, and gathered participants from 26 states, the European Commission Representation in Sofia and Frontex, as well as the ICMPD, the OSCE and the UNHCR.

The preparations for the meeting began in the second half of 2015 and represented a timely event in the context of the increasingly challenging situation with respect to migration that is being experienced by the participating countries. Thus the agenda was structured in such a manner as to account for the experience of the individual states in dealing with the unprecedented migration flows and the work of the international bodies in assisting with the associated challenges, as well as the work of the PP Secretariat in maintaining a platform for the facilitation of an intergovernmental dialogue on migration in the region most affected by the extraordinary on-going events. The sessions were, respectively, dedicated to the migration situation and the management thereof in the Western Balkan countries as the countries of transit of migration flows further into the EU, the analytical assessment and practical assistance furnished to these states by Frontex, the ICMPD, the OSCE and the UNHCR, as well as providing a detailed overview of the activities of the PP, including the Expert missions. The Knowledge base was also discussed as an aggregate platform for the sharing and dissemination of migration information. The discussion was geared toward the transformation of the knowledge gained into a newer and better platform with a capacity building component in the form of a Training Academy (TAC) and Migration Observatory (MO). In order to assist the achievement of this goal, the non-EU countries also shared their experience in working with migration data for the purposes of migration management in their respective states.  

In the course of the round-table discussion, all participants agreed that the current migration developments represent a common challenge that cannot and should not be addressed by individual states alone due to the large-scale format of changes envisaged. Rather, coordinated responses are necessary in order to ensure the opening up of opportunities for finding mutually acceptable – and beneficial – solutions to the crisis on behalf of the countries of transit and destination as well as for the migrants themselves. Given the considerable numbers of migrants involved, unlocking their economic potential upon arrival, as put forward by the OSCE, would represent one possible step in devising a compromise solution to the complex problem.

Most relevant in this context was the discussion of the future of the Prague Process as an intergovernmental dialogue, which is to be used as a stepping stone on the path to the creation and launching of a Training Academy on migration and a Migration Observatory with a specific focus on the PP countries. The idea of such transformation was put forward by the Czech Republic as early as the beginning of the year 2015, which also re-confirmed its commitment to lead the new project as stated during the Senior Officials Meetings in Budapest and Prague on 6-7 of July and 7-8 of December 2015, respectively. The Ministerial Conference will discuss the Ministerial declaration, into which the MO and the TAC will be included upon a discussion, based on the feedback from the participating states during the meeting in Sofia. Taking into account the results of the round table discussion, a detailed concept note outlining the next steps will be prepared by the Secretariat and shared with the member states in the coming months.