Belgrade – The presentation of Vega Handbook: Children at airports published by Frontex, was the main theme at the Eight Joint Training within BORDAIRPOL II project, organized by MARRI RC. The training was attended by Commanders and operational staff of Border Police at the international airports of MARRI Participants, project beneficiaries Bulgaria, Romania and Moldova as well as representatives from ICMPD, Interpol and the Centre for Protection of Victims of Trafficking in Human Beings of the Republic of Serbia. With this activity,

Skopje – As part of the EU-funded IPA II project ‘Regional Support to Protection-Sensitive Migration Management in the Western Balkans and Turkey’, IOM organized a one-day workshop to present and validate the Regional Platform for Migration Data Exchange in the Western Balkans (WB-MIDEX). The workshop gathered representatives working on migration statistics from MARRI Participants’ Ministries of Interior/Security and National Statistical Agencies. European Commission, Frontex, UNHCR and MARRI RC were also represented at the workshop. In his introductory statement, MARRI RC

Skopje – The regular mid-term MARRI Regional Committee meeting under the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina took place at the premises of the Regional Centre in Skopje. The event was chaired by MARRI Committee Member of Bosnia and Herzegovina Almir Sahovic and it was attended by MARRI Committee members, National Coordinators, representatives of MARRI Participants and MARRI staff. MARRI RC Director Sashko Kocev presented the overall activities of the Regional Centre in the past six months with particular focus on the implementation

Sarajevo – MARRI RC under the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina and with the support of GIZ, organized the Second meeting of Ad hoc Working Group for finalization of key legal documents related to internal organization of MARRI. The meeting that takes place on 22-23 November 2018 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo, is attended by MARRI Committee Members, National Coordinators, MARRI Participants Representatives and Regional Centre experts and staff. The session is a

Budva – The Heads of Border Police, Asylum, Readmission Departments and THB National Coordinators of MARRI Participants,  their counterparts from Bulgaria, Moldova and Romania as well as representatives of many international partners attended the Fifth Annual Meeting “Joint Meeting of MARRI Networks“, organized by MARRI RC in the framework of the BORDAIRPOL II project. With an objective to closely examine the core work of the four MARRI networks and to provide concrete proposals/ideas for using MARRI capacities in conducting future activities,

Skopje – Under the auspices of the EU-funded project ‘Regional Support to Protection-Sensitive Migration Management in the Western Balkans and Turkey’, MARRI RC and IOM organised a Presentation and Validation Workshop for a new Regional Remote Interpretation Service for Western Balkans migration management authorities. The Workshop gathered Asylum and ICT department representatives from all six MARRI Participants as well as MARRI RC team members to discuss the operationalization of the MARRI Regional Remote Interpretation Service, which is to be launched

  Skopje – MARRI RC with the support of German International Cooperation (GIZ) organized a consultative workshop where representatives of MARRI Participants, GIZ, experts for trafficking in human beings and MARRI RC team worked together on preparation of a new regional project on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and Migrant Smuggling. The project that is due to start mid-2019, will be supported by German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by GIZ in partnership

Vienna – The evolving migration dynamics in Western Balkans, the need for stronger and coordinated response to the migration in the region as well as the future joint activities, were some of the topics of IOM-MARRI Regional Strategic Exchange for Western Balkans, held on 15 October 2018 in Vienna, Austria. Organized by IOM Regional Office in Vienna, the meeting was attended by MARRI Regional Centre Director Sashko Kocev on behalf of MARRI and IOM delegation led by IOM Regional Director

Tirana – MARRI Regional Centre joined the initiative “Run for Refugees” in the 2018 Tirana’s Half Marathon and 10K, launched by UNHCR in Albania to support refugees by raising awareness on their situation. The RC Director Sashko Kocev joined the team of over 150 people, among which some refugees and asylum seekers residing in Albania, to participate in the event aimed to show that people who are in danger, even though distant and unfamiliar, deserve to be treated with dignity

Tirana – On 5 October 2018, MARRI RC Director Sashko Kocev attended the second part of EU-Western Balkans Ministerial Forum, dedicated on home affairs. The annual forum that was organized by Austrian Presidency of the Council of the European Union, in cooperation with European Commission and the support of Albania, is part of the strategy supporting the Western Balkans on their path towards the EU. In a course of two working sessions, the Ministers of Interior of EU member states and