The European Migration Network has published the Annual Report on Migration and Asylum that offers a comprehensive overview of the key developments in the contributing EMN Member and Observer Countries in 2022. The event that has distinctly defined this period was the invasion of the Ukraine on 24 February 2022. Following the invasion, an influx of people fleeing the war in Ukraine led to the activation of the Temporary Protection Directive. The European Migration Network (EMN) Member and Observer Countries concentrated their efforts on providing safe shelter to people fleeing the war in Ukraine.
The war against Ukraine has undoubtedly marked the most significant occurrence during 2022. In response to the crisis, the Temporary Protective Directive (TPD) (2001/55/EC) was activated on the 4 March 2022, for the first time over 20 years after its adoption. This measure provided immediate protection and a uniform set of rights to the people fleeing the war in Ukraine. Thus far, more than four million registrations for temporary protection have been observed in the EU and Schengen Associated Countries, with more than three million registrations recorded during the first half of 2022.
These new challenges further intensified the existing ones, ranging from issues linked to demography, the labour market and the influence of migration on societies of Member States. 2022 marked a rise in the asylum applications, representing an increase of 65% of first-time applications since 2021, which created increased pressure on the asylum systems of Member States and Norway.
In 2022, the impact of the COVID-19 has considerably decreased compared to the previous two years, resulting in travel restrictions being lifted and the migration-related activities and procedures to be resumed. The focus among Member States on attracting and retaining qualified workers remained a priority. In April 2022, the European Commission adopted the ‘Skills and Talents Package’, a policy for legal migration to attract talent and address labour and skills shortages. In order to do so, several EU Member States implemented significant reforms to attract skilled professionals. As a part of this, the EU Talent Pool can assist employers in locating qualified workers while supporting third county nationals in their integration into the labour market. In October 2022, European Employment Services Network (EURES) platform launched Talent Pool Pilot for Ukraine with plans to establish a well-developed ‘EU Talent Pool’ for fostering job-matching in 2022.
The European Annual Report can be downloaded in the Publications Section. The Synthesis Report is accompanied by a shorter Inform, Country Factsheet and Flash as well as by the Statistical Annex.