Ministers from 47 Council of Europe member states meet in Kyiv

Discussions will focus on the management of economic migration and its consequences on economic development and social cohesion, with a view to promoting co-operation between receiving and origin countries and sharing the benefits of migration more equitably between them. The conference aims to develop an integrated approach and help European countries respond to challenges in a coherent way.

The opening session will be addressed by Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and Interior Minister Yurii Lutsenko, Swedish Migration and Asylum Policy Minister Tobias Billström (Swedish Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe), Parliamentary Assembly Vice-President and Migration Committee Chairperson Corien Jonker, Council of Europe Congress President Yavuz Mildon and French Minister for Immigration, Integration, National Identity and Cooperative Development Brice Hortefeux.

A final press conference is scheduled at 12.15 pm on Friday 5 September.

The Conference will take place at the International Exhibition Centre in Kyiv (Brovarskiy Avenue 15).

Only the inaugural session will be open to the press from 9 am to 10 am on Thursday 4 September. A family photo will be organised at the end of the opening session.

The conference will be followed on 5 September, in the afternoon, by a European Parliamentary Forum on Economic Migration, Social Cohesion and Development, organised by the Sub-Committee on Migration of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly, the European Parliament and the Ukrainian Parliament (Verkhovna Rada).