The Budapest Process (BP)
celebrates 30 years of dialogue on migration. In the past three decades,
the BP has expanded geographically and thematically. Initial discussions
on the need for a migration dialogue within wider Europe started in the early
90s including at a Ministerial meeting in 1991 in Berlin. In February 1993, the
Budapest Process obtained its name after its successful Ministerial Conference
in Budapest.
Since then, the Budapest Process
has become a well-recognised dialogue stretching from Europe to Asia. Its balanced
approach, looking at all aspects of migration, and its network of focal
points have built trust overtime and strong cooperation. The dialogue shifted
its focus to the Silk Routes Region in 2010 which led to the Silk Routes
Partnership for Migration, highlighted in both Ministerial Conferences in
2013 and 2019. Projects under the umbrella of the dialogue have led to concrete
impact in the Silk Routes Region specifically.
The Budapest Process has been
structured by its annual Senior Officials meetings and its expert-level
meetings, whether thematic or regional and its strength lies in partners
meeting informally on equal-footing. Over the years, the structure of the
BP has remained flexible with ad hoc meetings taking place based on expressed
needs, unforeseen crises and new topics of interest.
The Budapest Process Secretariat
has drafted a catalogue of all the activities of the Budapest Process since
1993. This catalogue highlights the evolution of the Process and the
commitment of specific partners since the dialogue’s early days. It showcases
key turning points and how the BP managed to adapt in times of change.
A few examples include: A Senior
Officials meeting in March 2013 gathered 67 participating states and
organisations, the highest number of states and organisations recorded. The
furthest meeting of the BP took place in Perth, Australia, in May 2004 for a
joint Budapest and Bali Process meeting. Many other meeting summaries
capture the dialogue richness and its longstanding and continuous priority
toward cooperation on migration.
