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Poldershop on the EU Migration Pact in Tallinn
In early April, the IOI European Regional President, Reinier van Zutphen, brought together staff from counterparts from Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland to discuss the implications of the EU’s Migration Pact, set to enter into force in June 2026. This meeting was organised in line with the meeting on the Migration Pact that took part in Brussels at the office of the Federal Belgium Ombudsman. That session focused more on the migration movement in the Mediterranean region and in Estonia participants focused more on the northern European experience.
The meeting, hosted by the Estonian Chancellor of Justice in Tallinn, was organised as a “Poldershop” by two staff members of the Dutch National Ombudsman. This means that there are no speakers and the gathering is set up in an open and informal way to allow everybody to share their thoughts and ideas freely. Discussions focused on the asylum and migration landscape in Eastern European countries, particularly those bordering Belarus and Russia, where geopolitical pressures continue to shape migration. Participants also addressed the issue of the “instrumentalisation” of migration.
A second key topic was the independent monitoring mechanism outlined in the Screening Regulation. Ombuds institutions compared approaches to assuming this new responsibility and explored how they intend to oversee Migration Pact-related developments in cases where they are not directly involved in the mechanism.
The exchange offered valuable insight into both shared and country-specific challenges facing ombuds institutions across the region. The dialogue will continue on 9 and 10 June, when the National Ombudsman hosts an IOI-Europe conference in Rotterdam, bringing together a broader group of participants from across Europe and neighbouring regions.
Source: The Office of the Regional President of the IOI's European Region and National Ombudsman of the Netherlands
