IOM and the European Commission have agreed to strengthen their
cooperation in the area of migration and mobility.

Commissioners Cecilia Malmström (Home Affairs) and Andris
Piebalgs (Development) have today signed in Brussels a framework
agreement with IOM Director-General William Lacy Swing.

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The agreement provides for simpler and more efficient methods of
cooperation by simplifying and streamlining the procedure for
contractual negotiations between the EU and the IOM. It is
applicable to any operation, programme or project administered by
IOM and financed or co-financed by the European Union.

At the signing ceremony, Commissioner Malmström said: "IOM
is a key international organisation in the area of migration and is
an important partner of the European Union. The EU and IOM work in
close cooperation on a daily basis on projects which promote
international cooperation in areas such as legal migration,
irregular migration and migration and development. I wholly welcome
the step taken today towards a strengthened partnership by
facilitating day-to-day cooperation between our two
organisations."

Commissioner Piebalgs added: "Migration also has an impact on
developing countries. With more than 200 million migrants
worldwide, the EU is committed to addressing issues that affect
them and to helping countries which face migration-related
challenges. Thanks to this new agreement, we will boost our
cooperation with IOM and we will be more efficient in reaching
those migrants who need our assistance."

"We are delighted to have reached this significant milestone,"
said IOM Director General Swing. "This framework agreement is the
fruitful outcome of our ever expanding cooperation. We look forward
to the new possibilities this agreement offers."

The European Commission has developed a general standard
agreement which it applies to its contractual relationships with
international organisations (the "Standard Contribution Agreement
with an International Organisation" or "SCA").

The Framework Agreement signed today aims to adapt the standard
provisions of the SCA to the specific requirements of IOM. This
will further simplify the contractual negotiations of individual
contribution agreements ("Contribution Agreements") concluded
between the Commission and IOM for future specific programmes or
projects.

IOM is one of the main implementing partners of the European
Union in the field of migration policy, notably with regard to the
Global Approach to Migration.

Together, the European Commission and the EU Member States are
major contributors to the IOM budget. The European Commission has,
for instance, funded a number of projects carried out by IOM under
the Thematic Programme for Migration and Asylum and through
geographical funding instruments.

IOM is also an important partner of the €15 million
flagship Joint Migration and Development Initiative (JMDI), which
supports civil society organisations and local authorities in
linking migration and development.

More recently, IOM has also been involved in a €3 million
targeted initiative supporting dialogue on migration between the
European Union and Latin America and the Caribbean. In addition,
IOM has been active in EU Mobility Partnership projects and in
developing Migration Profiles.

Cooperation with IOM feeds into the wider goal of a balanced and
comprehensive EU migration policy. It will help Europe make the
most of the benefits brought by migration, such as enriched
cultural societies and better economic development and performance
in the long term, both in the EU and in the migrants' countries of
origin.

For more information, please contact:

Bernd Hemingway

IOM Brussels

Tel: + 32 2 287 7000

E-mail: "mailto:bhemingway@iom.int">bhemingway@iom.int