Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund: recommitment of remaining amounts or allocation of those amounts to other actions under the national programmes

2018/0371(COD)

PURPOSE: to enable the recommitment of the remaining amounts committed to support the implementation of the 2015 and 2016 Decisions imposing provisional measures on international protection for the benefit of Italy and Greece, in accordance with the Regulation establishing the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, to be re-committed or allocated to other actions under the national programmes.

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Regulation (EU) 2018/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 516/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council, as regards the recommitment of the remaining amounts committed to support the implementation of Council Decisions (EU) 2015/1523 and (EU) 2015/1601 or the allocation of those amounts to other actions under the national programmes.

CONTENT: the amendment of Council Regulation (EU) No 516/2014 establishing the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) aims to allow Member States to transparently recommit or transfer amounts within national programmes, through revisions of these national programmes, in order to promote EU priorities in the fields of migration and asylum, including relocation.

As a reminder, the Commission committed funding to Member States' national programmes under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund to support the implementation of Council Decisions (EU) 2015/1523 and (EU) 2015/1601 imposing provisional measures on international protection for the benefit of Italy and Greece. Decision (EU) 2015/1601 was amended by Council Decision (EU) 2016/1754.

These decisions have since ceased to apply.

Part of the funding allocated under Decisions (EU) 2015/1523 and (EU) 2015/1601 in 2016 and in some cases 2017 remains available in the Member States' national programmes.

This Regulation amending Council Regulation (EU) No 516/2014 allows Member States to use the remaining amounts to continue to implement relocations by recommitting these amounts to the same action under national programmes.

Member States shall recommit or transfer a minimum of 20% of these amounts to actions under national programmes concerning the transfer of applicants for international protection or beneficiaries of international protection, resettlement or other ad hoc humanitarian admissions, as well as measures to prepare for the transfer of applicants for international protection following their arrival in the Union, including by sea, or the transfer of beneficiaries of international protection.

Where duly justified in the revision of Member States' national programmes, it shall be possible for Member States to use up to 80 % of those amounts to address other challenges in the areas of asylum and migration.

Such recommitment or transfer operations shall be possible only once and shall be duly justified in the context of a revision of the national programmes, which shall be approved by the Commission.

The target group eligible for transfer, as well as the number of Member States from which transfers take place, should be expanded to give more flexibility to Member States in carrying out transfers, taking into account the specific needs of unaccompanied minors, or other vulnerable applicants, and the specific situation of family members of beneficiaries of international protection.

The amending Regulation extends by a maximum of six months the deadline for decommitment of the remaining amounts committed to support the implementation of Council Decisions (EU) 2015/1523 and (EU) 2015/1601 in order to give Member States sufficient time to review national programmes and make changes related to possible re-spending or transfers of amounts.

Where recommitments or transfers of amounts under the national programme are approved by the Commission, the amounts concerned should be considered to have been committed in the year of the revision of the national programme that approves the recommitment or the transfer concerned.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 21.12.2018.