International migration is a key concern for the ENP-S countries: it takes several forms and it has a huge impact on the economy and employment as well as on the socio-cultural fabric. Better understanding the causes and the consequences of international migration may help the countries to design adequate policies, to implement effective measures to alleviate the negative effects of the human drain and to make the arrival of migrants from abroad beneficial to all the involved parties.
In its earlier phase, MEDSTAT has supported the ENP-S countries in designing a series of model questionnaires for the collection of data on International migration through Household International Migration Surveys and the preparation of project proposals and the survey implementation in most the countries. This kind of survey has been implemented in Egypt (2013), in Jordan (2014) and in a region of Morocco (2013). It is expected to be carried out in other ENP-S countries in the years to come. A Steering Committee has been established chaired by Eurostat and involving the World Bank, UNFPA, UNHCR, IOM, ILO and the League of Arab States.
Under MEDSTAT IV, support to HIMS has continued to be given focusing on the consolidation of the model questionnaires, the analysis of the available data from Egypt, the organisation of an experts’ meeting in September 2016 and some activities for coordination and communication. The next workshop is organised by MEDSTAT IV with also the financial contribution of the World Bank, UNHCR, and IOM.
During the next meeting, participants from seven of the ENP-S countries (all except Israel and Libya) will discuss the adaptations to the various model questionnaires, first the extension of one questionnaire to all immigrants, on the basis of the experiences of pioneer countries as well as small experts’ meetings held in previous months. Furthermore, the participants will start working at designing a lighter set of model questionnaire that may ease the conduct of the survey, target the compilation of some key migration indicators and accelerate the production of results.
Some participants in the workshop will then stay in Marrakech to contribute to the scientific programme of the 61st World Congress of the International Statistics Institute (ISI) with a special session dedicated to the presentation and discussion of MED-HIMS and the results of first surveys.
