IOM-EU cooperation around the world

The relationship between IOM and the European Union rests on longstanding dialogue and cooperation around the world.

A rights-based approach and international frameworks, such as the 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals, guide the full spectrum of IOM’s work with the EU in support of international cooperation and development in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, and South-Eastern and Eastern Europe.

Building on the EU-IOM Strategic Cooperation Framework established in July 2012, IOM engages with the EU institutions through structured dialogue at expert and senior officials' levels, regular liaison activities, joint events, regional processes and dialogues, and fora such as the European Development Days.

Operationally, the EU and its Member States remain one of the largest contributors to IOM’s budget.

EU funding for IOM’s non-humanitarian work outside the EU has increased significantly since 2015, linked to mixed migration dynamics along Mediterranean routes, related policy responses of the EU, and joint commitments taken by the EU with African partners, Türkiye, the Western Balkans, Bangladesh, and Iraq. So far, the EU has contracted IOM for almost 300 development cooperation projects worldwide with a total value of more than EUR 1.8 billion.