16 Feb 2016 -- European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development Neven Mimica today opened a high-level dialogue with IOM in Brussels to exchange views on current and future challenges in the field of migration.

IOM Director General William Lacy Swing and Deputy Director General Laura Thompson took part in the annual strategic meeting, together with other senior European Commission (EC) officials and representatives of the European External Action Service.

The overall objective of today’s meeting (formally known as a 'Senior Officials Meeting') was to explore ways to strengthen international efforts to implement the political commitments adopted at the Valletta Summit in November 2015, the Western Balkans Conference and in the Turkey Action Plan.

Discussions focused on pressing topics of common concern for the EU and the IOM including facilitating legal avenues for migration, voluntary returns and reintegration, and strengthening the evidence base to inform policy on migration and displacement. This is the third Senior Officials Meeting held within the EU-IOM Strategic Cooperation Framework.