Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2011)751 - Asylum and Migration Fund - Main contents
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This page contains a limited version of this dossier in the EU Monitor.
| dossier | COM(2011)751 - Asylum and Migration Fund. |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2011)751  |
| date | 15-11-2011 |
The policies relating to the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice have been growing steadily over the last years. Their importance has been confirmed by the Stockholm Programme and its Action Plan, the implementation of which is a strategic priority for the next five years and covers areas such as migration (legal migration and integration; asylum; irregular migration and return), security (prevention of and fight against terrorism and organised crime; police cooperation) and management of the external borders (including visa policy), as well as the external dimension of these policies. The Lisbon Treaty also enables the Union to demonstrate greater ambition in responding to the day-to-day concerns of citizens in the area of freedom, security and justice.
The Stockholm programme recognises both the opportunities and challenges posed by increased mobility of persons, and underlines that well-managed migration can be beneficial to all stakeholders. The European Council equally recognised that, in the context of the important demographic challenges that the Union will face in the future with an increased demand for labour, flexible migration policies will make an important contribution to the Union’s economic development and performance in the longer term.
On 29 June 2011, the Commission adopted a proposal for the next Multi-Annual Financial Framework for the period 2014-2020: a budget for delivering the Europe 2020 strategy. In the area of home affairs policies, covering security, migration and the management of external borders, the Commission proposed to simplify the structure of the expenditure instruments by reducing the number of programmes to a two pillar structure: an Asylum and Migration Fund and an Internal Security Fund.
This Regulation establishes the Asylum and Migration Fund which draws on the capacity building process developed with the assistance of the European Refugee Fund i, the European Fund for the Integration of third-country nationals i and the European Return Fund i and extends it to cover more comprehensively different aspects of the common Union asylum and immigration policy, including actions in or in relation to third countries addressing primarily EU interests and objectives in those policy areas, and takes into account new developments.
In the framework of developing a common policy on asylum with a view to offering appropriate status to any third-country national requiring international protection and ensuring compliance with the principle of non-refoulement as stated in the Treaty on the Functionning of the European Union, it is necessary, based on solidarity between Member States, to set up mechanisms to promote a balance of effort between Member States in receiving and bearing the consequences of receiving persons in need of international protection and displaced persons. This also includes a strong resettlement and relocation component.
A well organised legal immigration policy and more effective integration strategies, in line with the Stockholm Programme and supported by the Union's legal instruments, have a central role to play in ensuring the Union's long-term competitiveness and ultimately the future of its social model. In this light, better integration, economically and socially, of legally residing third-country nationals remains the key to maximising the benefits of immigration.
An effective and sustainable return policy is an essential element of a well-managed migration system within the Union. It is also a necessary complement to a credible legal immigration and asylum policy, as well as an important component in the fight against irregular immigration.
Recent events at the Greek/Turkish border and in the Southern Mediterranean have also demonstrated how important it is for the Union to have a comprehensive approach to migration, covering various aspects such as strengthened border management and Schengen governance, better targeted legal migration, enhanced dissemination of best practices on integration, a reinforced Common European Asylum System, and a more strategic approach to relations with third countries on migration.
Contents
- RESULTS OF CONSULTATIONS WITH THE INTERESTED PARTIES AND IMPACT ASSESSMENT
- LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL
- BUDGETARY IMPLICATION
- EUR million (current prices)
- 5. MAIN ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL
- 5.1. Resources for Member States
- 5.1.1. Basic amount
- 5.1.2. Variable amount
- 5.1.3. Mid-term allocation
- 5.2. Union Agencies
- 5.3. Actions in or in relation to third countries
In accordance with the greater emphasis placed on evaluation as a tool to inform policy making, this proposal is informed by evaluation results, stakeholder consultation and impact assessment.
The results of the reports on the ex-post evaluation of the European Refugee Fund for the period 2005-2007 and on the mid-term evaluation of the implementation of the European Fund for the Integration of third-country nationals for 2007-2009 and of the European Return Fund for 2008-2009 were particularly important in this respect.
Work on the preparation of the future financial instruments for home affairs started in 2010 and continued into 2011. As part of this preparatory work, an evaluation/impact assessment study was launched in December 2010 with the aid of an external contractor. This study was completed in July 2011 and brought together available evaluation results for the existing financial instruments and informed the problems, objectives and policy options, including their likely impact, examined in the impact assessment. Building upon this study, the Commission prepared an impact assessment report on which the Impact Assessment Board delivered its opinion on 9 September 2011.
The impact assessment takes into account the results of a dedicated on-line public consultation on the future of home affairs funding. The consultation ran from 5 January to 20 March 2011 and was open to all stakeholders. A total of 115 responses were received from individuals and on behalf of organisations, including 8 position papers. Respondents from all Member States contributed to the consultation as well as respondents from some third countries.
In April 2011 the conference 'The future of EU funding for Home Affairs: A fresh look' brought together key stakeholders (Member States, international organisations, civil society organisations etc) and gave them the opportunity to share their views on the future of Union funding for home affairs. The conference was also an occasion to validate the outcome of the stock taking and the public consultation.
The future of Union funding for home affairs was raised and discussed with institutional stakeholders on numerous occasions, including at an informal lunch discussion during the JHA Council on 21 January 2011, an informal breakfast with the political coordinators of the European Parliament on 26 January 2011, at the hearing of Commissioner Malmström before the Parliament's SURE Committee on 10 March 2011 and during an exchange of views between the Director-General of DG Home Affairs and the Parliament's LIBE Committee on 17 March 2011.
Specific expert advice on the future financial instruments in the area of asylum and migration was provided through discussions that took place during the Immigration and Asylum Committee of 22 February 2011, at the meeting of the network of National Contact Points on Integration on 15 March 2011, at the meeting of the Contact Committee on the Return Directive on 18 March 2011 and at the meeting of the High Level Working Group on Migration and Asylum on 27 April 2011. Moreover, technical aspects linked to the implementation of the future financial instrument in the area of asylum and migration were also discussed on the basis of a written consultation in April 2011 with Member States' experts within the framework of the common Committee for the General Programme on Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows ('SOLID Committee').
The above consultations, conferences and expert discussions confirmed that there is general agreement among key stakeholders on the need to broaden the scope of action for Union funding in the field of asylum and migration, including as regards its external dimension, and a need to work towards more simplification of delivery mechanisms and greater flexibility, notably to respond to emergencies. In the area of asylum and migration, stakeholders considered that the broad thematic priorities have already been fixed by the Stockholm Programme and its Action Plan. There was broad support to reduce the number of financial instruments to a two-Fund structure on the condition that this would actually lead to simplification. They also agreed on the need for a flexible emergency response mechanism to allow the Union to respond quickly and effectively to migration and security-related crises. Shared management with a move to multi-annual programming with the definition of common targets at Union level was generally seen as the appropriate management method for all home affairs spending although non-governmental organisations were of the view that direct management should also be continued. Stakeholders also supported enhancing the role of the home affairs agencies in order to foster cooperation and increase synergies.
The right to act derives from Article 3 of the Treaty on European Union which states that 'the Union shall offer its citizens an area of freedom, security and justice without internal frontiers, in which the free movement of persons is ensured in conjunction with appropriate measures with respect to external border controls, asylum, immigration and the prevention and combating of crime'.
Union action is justified on the grounds of the objectives laid out in Article 67 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the Union (hereinafter referred to as the Treaty), setting out the means to constitute an area of freedom, security and justice.
The Regulation is based on legal bases in Title V of the Treaty in the area of freedom, security and justice namely on Articles 78 and 79 and i which constitute legal basis for Union action in area of asylum, immigration, management of migration flows, fair treatment of third-country nationals residing legally in Member States, combating illegal immigration and trafficking in human beings, including through co-operation with third countries.
These Articles constitute compatible legal bases in the light of the position of the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark with regard to the areas they cover, thus provide for compatible voting rules in the Council. Further ordinary legislative procedure applies to each of them.
Attention is also drawn to Article 80 of the Treaty which underlines that these policies of the Union and their implementation shall be governed by the principle of solidarity and fair sharing of responsibility, including its financial implications, between the Member States.
Overall, this is an area where there is an obvious added value in Union interventions compared to Member States acting alone. The European Union is in a better position than Member States to provide a framework for expressing Union solidarity in the management of migration flows. The financial support provided under this Regulation therefore contributes in particular to strengthening national and European capabilities in this area. For that purpose, this Regulation inter alia aims to strengthen and develop the Common European Asylum System, to enhance the solidarity and responsibility sharing between the Member States, in particular towards those most affected by migration and asylum flows, to encourage the development of proactive immigration strategies relevant to and supportive of the integration process of third-country nationals and promote the integration of third-country nationals with particular focus on the local and regional levels of Member States, to enhance the Member States' capacities to promote fair and effective return strategies and to support the development of partnerships and cooperation with third countries.
However, it is fully acknowledged that interventions should take place at an appropriate level and the role of the Union should not go beyond what is necessary. As the Budget Review has highlighted, the 'EU budget should be used to finance EU public goods, actions that Member States and regions cannot finance themselves, or where it can secure better results'.[7]
The Commission's proposal for a Multi-Annual Financial Framework includes a proposal of EUR 3,869 million (in current prices) for Asylum and Migration Fund for the period 2014-2020. Indicatively more than 80% of this amount (EUR 3,232 million) should be used for national programmes of Member States while EUR 637 million should be centrally managed by the Commission to fund Union actions, emergency assistance, European Migration Network, technical assistance and the implementation of specific operational tasks by Union agencies.
Asylum and Migration Fund| 3,869
National programmes| 3,232
Centralised management| 637
The most important part of the resources available under the Fund will be channelled through national programmes of Member States covering the whole period 2014-2020. For this purpose, the amount of resources to be allocated to the Member States within the Fund will be composed of a basic amount and a variable amount. Following a mid-term review an additional amount may be allocated as of budget year 2018.
The basic amount is established on the basis of latest available statistical data relating to the migration flows, such as the number of first asylum applications, positive decisions granting refugee or subsidiary protection, number of resettled refugees, stock and flows of legally residing third-country nationals, number of return decisions issued by the national authorities and the number of effected returns i. Those data are the same as those used so far for the calculation of allocations under the European Refugee Fund, the European Fund for the Integration of third-country nationals and the European Return Fund. In order to ensure critical mass for the implementation of national programmes, EUR 5 million is added as a minimum amount to each Member State.
The basic amounts earmarked to individual Member States will serve as a basis to start the policy dialogue, followed by the multiannual programming, to support, on the hand, a limited number of compulsory objectives (e.g. strengthening the establishment of Common European Asylum System by ensuring the efficient and uniform application of the Union acquis on asylum or developing an assisted voluntary return programme including a component on reintegration) and, on the other hand, to address the specific needs of each Member State.
The variable amount will be allocated following the policy dialogue mentioned above to those Member States willing to work in those operational fields which depend on their political commitment and willingness to act, or ability to cooperate with other Member States. This will be the case for the implementation of specific actions such as for instance joint processing of asylum applications, joint return operations, setting up of joint migration centres as well as for the implementation of resettlement and relocation operations.
For what concerns resettlement, Member States will receive financial incentives (lump sums) every two years on the basis of their pledging which will follow the establishment of common Union resettlement priorities. These will be the result of a political process involving in particular the European Parliament and the Council and reflecting the policy developments at national and Union level. Through these financial incentives, two objectives are to be achieved: a quantitative one, i.e. to increase significantly the current resettlement figures which are too small, and a qualitative one, i.e. to strengthen the European dimension through the implementation of defined and dynamic common Union resettlement priorities.
Moreover, based on a similar pledging exercise and at regular intervals, Member States will receive financial incentives (lump sums) for relocation of beneficiaries of international protection.
A part of available resources will be kept for mid-term review.
This will, on the one hand, allow allocating additional amounts to those Member States undergoing significant changes in migration flows and presenting specific needs concerning their asylum and reception systems and, on the other hand, to allocate additional amounts to those Member States willing to implement specific actions. The latter may be revised in line with the most recent policy developments.
To use more effectively the competence and expertise of relevant Union agencies in the home affairs field, the Commission also envisages to make use of the possibility offered by the Financial Regulation[9] to entrust, within the resources available under this Regulation, the implementation of specific tasks to such agencies, in the framework of their missions and in complementarity with their work programmes. For the tasks covered by this Regulation this concerns in particular the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) and the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union (Frontex Agency) for activities in and outside the EU requiring operational expertise on issues related to asylum and irregular immigration, respectively.
This Fund shall support actions catering primarily for Union interests, having a direct impact in the Union and its Member States and ensuring a necessary continuity with activities implemented in the territory of the Union. Actions that are directly development oriented shall not be supported through this Fund. In implementing such actions, full coherence will be sought with the principles and general objectives of the Union external action related to the country or region in question.