The Commission presents its first report on relocation
and resettlement in accordance with Council Decision (EU) 2015/1523
and Council
Decision (EU) 2015/1601 (Relocation Decisions), adopted in
September 2015, which established a temporary and exceptional
relocation mechanism for 160,000 applicants in clear need of
international protection from Greece and Italy. This was a response
to the arrival of around 880,000 persons arrived in the European
Union through Greece and Italy.
In addition, following the Commission
Recommendation of 8 June 2015 on a European resettlement
scheme, 27 Member States together with Dublin Associated States
agreed on 20 July 2015 to resettle 22,504 displaced persons from
outside the EU who are in clear need of international protection
within two years. The report also responds to the Commission
commitment under the Roadmap
"Back to Schengen" to report on a monthly basis on the
implementation of relocation and resettlement.
The Communication summarises the challenges
identified and lessons learned in these first months of
implementation of the relocation and resettlement schemes and
proposes recommendations and actions in the short term to improve
the implementation rate.
It makes the following points:
Relocation:
- the rate of implementation has been slow over
the last five months but there are signs of a positive trend: by 15
March 2016, 937 people had been relocated (368 from Italy and 569
from Greece). The pace of relocation has significantly increased in
the first weeks of March, but is still insufficient to meet the
objectives of the Relocation Decisions;
- as of 15 March, the total
number of indications of readiness to relocate swiftly applicants
for international protection ("formal pledges") by Member
States of relocation amounts to 3,723 which represent 2.33% of the 160,000 relocation
transfers to be implemented. On the
positive side, most Member States have appointed liaison officers,
who play a key role in the procedure;
- there has been a rapid increase in the number of
applicants, from around 20 persons per day to 300 persons per
day in Greece). Partially, this is a consequence of the
restrictions imposed at the Greece/former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia border but also of the additional efforts to disseminate
information, including the deployment of European Asylum Support
Office (EASO) mobile teams outside the hotspots to maximise
outreach. Nevertheless, the risks of absconding once the person is
notified of the Member State of relocation remain;
- there has been an increased number of nationalities
eligible for relocation but also increased unpredictability
regarding new nationalities potentially covered by the Relocation
Decisions. The nationalities eligible for relocation are currently
Burundi, Central African Republic, Eritrea, Costa Rica, Saint
Vincent and the Grenadines;
- relocation of vulnerable applicants for
international protection, including unaccompanied minors is proving
challenging;
- some Member States have expressed long or
restrictive lists of preferences for the profile of the
applicants to be relocated, and some have used the non-respect
of preferences as a ground for rejecting a relocation request,
which is not allowed under the Council Decisions;
- the relocation procedure in general exceeds the
two-month time limit set out in the two Council Decisions on
relocation;
- the main reason for delays in responding to relocation
requests is additional security checks, including systematic
security interviews and requests for fingerprints;
- there are unjustified rejections of relocation
requests and a lack of pre-departure information by the Member
State of relocation:
- despite the fact that Member States offered 201
experts to the general call from EASO for 374 experts, the
response is inadequate for specific calls and actual
deployments.
Main recommendation to Greece and
Italy:
- increase the capacity of the Greek Asylum
Service, with the support of EASO, to
register applicants to be relocated, matching the significant
increase in the number of eligible migrants interested in joining
the scheme;
- complete the full operation of all
hotspots;
- step-up efforts to carry out systematic security
checks and to improve the quality of
information provided in the relocation requests sent to Member
States, and appoint a security correspondent;
- improve coordination capacity by finalising and implementing as soon as possible
Standard Operating Procedures and Protocols for
relocation;
- increase the reception capacity of Greece by making available the 50,000 places committed
under the roadmap as soon as possible;
- finalise as soon as possible the procedures to
facilitate the relocation of unaccompanied
minors.
Main recommendations to the Member States of
relocation:
- increase significantly the number and frequency of
pledges;
- reply to relocation requests from Italy and Greece
within one week upon receipt;
- accelerate the carrying out of additional security
checks with the objective of performing them within one
week and with a focus on duly justified cases;
- provide pre-departure information packages including
qualitative and attractive information to applicants following
EASO's guidance note;
- respond as a matter of urgency to EASO calls for
experts to support Italy and in Greece.
The report also addresses recommendations to the
European Asylum Support Office (EASO).
The Commission has calculated that in order to meet
the number of commitments already allocated (106,000) under the two
Council Decisions on relocation averaged over the remaining 18.5
months, a monthly relocation rate of 5,679 should be achieved as
a minimum. This would imply an average of around 187
transfers per day and a relocation procedure of maximum two
weeks. The experience of the recent relocation transfers to
Portugal from Greece proves that the relocation procedure can also
be implemented within one week. Based on this calculation, the
Commission considers that at least 6,000 relocations should be
completed by the time of its second report on relocation and
resettlement on 16 April, and that, stepping up the rate, at least
20,000 relocations should be completed by the third report on 16
May, in view of the emergency humanitarian situation on the
ground.
Resettlement: based on
the information received from the participating States 4,555 people
were resettled until 15 March 2016 to Austria, Belgium, Czech
Republic, France, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, the United
Kingdom, Norway, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland under the scheme. A
majority of States participating in the scheme indicated that their
resettlement efforts are primarily, but not exclusively, directed
at Syrians staying in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.
The report makes the following points:
- there are substantial divergences among the
Member States as regards their respective resettlement programmes
and practices, such as the selection criteria, length of
procedures, pre-departure orientation programmes, integration
tools, the status granted to persons admitted, residence permits as
well as the number of places available for
resettlement;
- the duration of the procedure can last from
several weeks to up to two years between the submission of the case
by the UNHCR until arrival in a host country;
- lack of reception capacities and finding adequate
accommodation was frequently
mentioned as a particular challenge, especially in cases of
resettling larger families, or when dealing with especially
vulnerable cases. Exit clearances by the third countries, were also
cited as problematic in some cases;
- 10 Member States are expected to resettle for the
first time, although none of them has started implementing the
programme yet. Challenges which those Member States face
include building capacity for establishing a national resettlement
mechanism, a lack of experience in conducting missions and
selecting candidates, providing optimal conditions for integration
of resettled refugees, and winning public support for resettlement
among the general public.
The Commission makes several recommendations regarding
overcoming these challenges, including: (i) sharing knowledge and
experience and working with partners; (ii) improved monitoring of
the scheme; (iii) implementing the Voluntary Humanitarian Admission
Scheme with Turkey; (iv) bringing forward an EU wide resettlement
proposal to frame the EU's policy on resettlement.
In order to underline the importance attached to
solidarity with affected third countries in the region and the role
of legal pathways for migration, Member States need to deliver
on the remaining 17,949 resettlement places. Over the remaining
period, Member States would need to resettle on average 855
people in need of protection on a monthly basis. In line with
its commitment under the Roadmap "Back to Schengen", the Commission
will report on a monthly basis on the progress made in implementing
the relocation and resettlement commitments.