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GDISC — Network for General Directors

GDISC (General Directors' Immigration Services Conference) is an informal network for European collaboration on immigration issues with a focus on practical issues and operational cooperation. On 10 January 2011, Sweden took over the Chair of GDISC. Sweden will hold the Chair until 1 July 2013.
GDISC was established in 2004 as an informal network of General Directors of immigration.

The GDISC network consists of the 27 EU Member States (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom), the 3 EU candidate countries (Croatia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and Turkey) and the 3 Schengen associated countries (Iceland, Norway and Switzerland).

The work of GDISC is led by a steering group, currently composed of General Directors  from Ireland, Italy, France, Netherlands, Poland, United Kingdom, Sweden (Chair), Switzerland, Czech Republic and Germany.

The General Directors meet for instance at yearly recurring conferences, which provide an opportunity to evaluate what has been achieved over the past year and to set the agenda for the coming year. The European Commission can participate in these meetings as an observer. During the Swedish Presidency a GDISC Secretariat is in operation at the Migration Board.

GDISC's aims and objectives


GDISC:
  • is a network, in principal, for General Directors or Directors General of Immigration Services throughout Europe;
  • initiates, co-ordinates and improves practical co-operation between Immigration Services responsible for the implementation of migration and asylum issues in Europe;
  • provides a flexible response to changing migration patterns in Europe; 
  • is a platform for exchanging experiences, best practice and building up networks of experts;
  • advises relevant EU institutions with regard to operational asylum and migration matters.

The task of the Secretariat is to:

  • plan and conduct meetings and conferences to promote practical cooperation on asylum and migration.
  • initiate and manage various projects within the field of migration.
  • Any Member State may provide staff to the Secretariat. Currently the Swedish GDISC Secretariat has coworkers from Norway, United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
Sidan senast uppdaterad: 2012-05-21