As regards to the Council conclusions of 12 December 2014 on migration and EU development cooperation, the following elements shall be highlighted:

Introduction

The Council asserts:

• Its commitment to ensure safe, orderly and regular migration, with full respect for human rights;
• Well managed migration and human mobility should be recognized in the post-2015 agenda as potential development enablers;
• Maximising the positive impact of well managed migration on development is an important policy priority for the EU (one of the five priority areas under the EU’s commitments on Policy Coherence for Development).

Taking full account of the opportunities and challenges of migration in EU development cooperation

• A more systematic incorporation of migration in the dialogue with partner countries and regions as well as into the programming of development cooperation is recommended;
• Improving migration related data collection and analysis is highly needed;
• Supporting partner countries with capacity building initiatives is considered important to help them deal with the challenges and opportunities of migration;
• Pursuing dialogue and cooperation with low and middle-income countries as destination countries is needed, with focus on the fight against racism and xenophobia;
• The different forms of contribution (economic, transfer of knowldege, experience and technology) and the significant roles that can be played (entrepreneurs, job creators...) are stressed;
• The maximization of the development impact of remittances and the reducation of the economic and social costs associated with migration have to be addressed.

Ensuring a coordinated development cooperation approach to refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), through

• Strengthening the link between humanitarian assistance and development: long-term development planning from the early stage of an humanitarian crisis;
• Preventing and reducing violence towards refugees, IDPs and vulnerable migrants;
• Strengthening the support to host countries and host communities in regions neighbouring conflict areas when accommodating refugees and other migrants.

As a conclusion, the Council calls upon “the Commission to ensure that the importance of migration as both an opportunity and a challenge for development is fully taken into account at EU level by integrating the migration dimension into EU development policy and cooperation wherever relevant and by ensuring appropriate funding responses”.

Therefore the Commission is invited to provide further policy orientations and operational guidance on these issues by adopting a Communication by the end of 2015.

To know more, read the full Council conclusions on migration and EU development cooperation.