IOM and the EU

IOM and the European Union (EU) institutions share a longstanding and robust partnership. Operationally, the cooperation between IOM and the EU was first formalised in a Framework Partnership Agreement for Humanitarian Aid Actions in 1994 and an EU-IOM Framework Agreement in 2011.  

In July 2012, IOM and EU counterparts established a Strategic Cooperation Framework aimed at fostering dialogue and cooperation at the highest level on key policy issues and migration management priorities, best practices as well as legislative and operational initiatives covering all aspects of migration, mobility and displacement.  

Currently, this Framework includes the European Commission Directorates General for Migration and Home Affairs (HOME), International Partnerships (INTPA), Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO), Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations (NEAR), and the European External Action Service (EEAS).  

IOM and the EU hold an annual Senior Officials Meeting under this Framework as well as a dedicated annual high-level dialogue on humanitarian issues. IOM also regularly engages with Directorates General responsible for other areas relevant to its scope of work such as DG Justice, DG Reform, DG Employment and DG Health. 

Since 2015, cooperation between IOM and the EU has increased substantially as migration and displacement figure more prominently on the EU and global agendas. 

The EU’s support to IOM programming in the EU and globally spans a broad spectrum of policy and thematic areas. Between 2013 and 2023, the EU consistently provided funding to IOM in the areas of Return and Reintegration, Resettlement and Relocation, Immigration and Border Governance, Protection, Migration and Development, Emergency Preparedness and Response, and Community Stabilization. The EU also supports a range of IOM initiatives that deliver vital assistance to communities affected by humanitarian crises and meet the needs of vulnerable populations. 

In addition, IOM supports the relocation of asylum seekers and beneficiaries of international protection from EU Member States under migratory pressure to other EU Member States and Associated Countries under the EU’s Voluntary Solidarity Mechanism.  

EU-IOM cooperation has also enabled IOM to implement routes-based programmes that seek to protect and assist migrants along migratory routes by increasing their access to essential support and services. Initiatives under this approach strive to promote the well-being of individual returnees and the protection of their rights throughout the entire return and reintegration process.  

IOM has also received funding in other key areas such as Migration and Health, Labour Migration, Child Protection, Reception Support, Social Cohesion and fighting Racism, Xenophobia, Intolerance, and Gender-Based Violence. Support is growing for programs that reduce disaster risks, address environmental and climate-related mobility and find long-term solutions for displaced people. 

In 2019-2023, the European Union contributed USD 2,718.4 million to IOM. 

IOM is one of the 27 UN agencies currently based in Brussels, working together to further EU-UN relations and strategic collaboration at all levels. Learn more about the EU-UN partnership.