Commission launches online tools to centralise data on migration flows to inform EU policymaking

Tomorrow, the European Commission’s Knowledge Centre on Migration and Demography (KCMD) will launch two new tools: the Migration Data Catalogue and the Dynamic Data Hub. Tibor Navracsics, Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, responsible for the Joint Research Centre said: “The European Commission’s Agenda on migration sets out to make best use of all tools and involve all actors to tackle the challenge. High quality data is crucial for all those involved to make informed decisions. With a multitude of data sources and a user-friendly interface, the Migration Data Catalogue and the Dynamic Data Hub make finding, accessing and understanding migration data easier. The first big products of the Commission’s Knowledge Centre on Migration and Demography, these tools will help manage migration in all its aspects.” The tools will centralise migration related data to better understand migration flows, trends and their impact on societies across the EU. In line with the implementation of the European Agenda on Migration,the Migration Data Catalogue will classify and organise datasets in a series of predefined domains, including legal migration and integration, asylum-seekers and refugees, irregular migration and returns, as well as unaccompanied minors. Building upon the Migration Data Catalogue, the Dynamic Data Hub – a publicly available web-based application – will provide direct access to single datasets through interactive mapping. Both tools will support the European Commission and interested organisations to formulate data-driven policies. So far, data has been fragmented, which meant that available figures were not used efficiently.