EU resettlement framework

2016/0225(COD)

PURPOSE: to create a common EU framework for EU Member States to resettle refugees from outside EU territory.

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Regulation (EU) 2024/1350 of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing a Union Resettlement and Humanitarian Admission Framework and amending Regulation (EU) 2021/1147.

CONTENT: the Regulation forms part of the EU pact on migration and asylum. It establishes:

- a Union Resettlement and Humanitarian Admission Framework for the admission of third-country nationals or stateless persons to the territory of the Member States with a view to granting them international protection; or humanitarian status under national law which provides for rights and obligations equivalent to those for beneficiaries of subsidiary protection; and

- rules on the admission, by means of resettlement or humanitarian admission, of third-country nationals or stateless persons to the territory of the Member States for the purpose of implementing this Regulation.

The Union Framework will provide for the legal and safe arrival to the territory of a Member State of third-country nationals or stateless persons who are eligible for admission and who do not fall under the grounds for refusal under this Regulation with a view to granting them international protection or humanitarian status under national law, and encourage all Member States to scale up their efforts to that end.

Unified procedure

To contribute to increasing resettlement and humanitarian admission efforts and reduce divergences among the national resettlement practices and procedures, the Regulation lays down a common procedure together with common eligibility criteria and grounds for refusal of admission, as well as common principles regarding the status to be granted to persons admitted.

Eligible for admission

To be eligible for admission, a third-country national or stateless person will fall within at least one of the categories of vulnerable persons, comprising: (i) women and girls at risk; (ii) minors, including unaccompanied minors; (iii)

survivors of violence or torture, including on the basis of gender or sexual orientation; (iv) persons with legal and/or physical protection needs, including as regards protection from refoulement; (v) persons with medical needs; (vi) persons with disabilities; (vii) persons who lack a foreseeable alternative durable solution, in particular those in a protracted refugee situation.

In order to ensure family unity, all family members (spouse or stable partner, minor children, father or mother of an unmarried minor, siblings) in relation to whom a Member State intends to conduct an admission procedure, who are eligible and who do not fall under the grounds for refusal should, as a rule and to the extent possible, be admitted together.

Union Resettlement and Humanitarian Admission Plan

The Regulation provides for the preparation of a two-year Union plan, adopted by the Council on the basis of a Commission proposal, and for the European Parliament to be kept informed during the process. This Union plan will determine the total number of persons in need of protection to be admitted to the EU and will include indications on the contribution of each Member State, as well as the setting of geographical priorities for the Union of non-EU countries from which admission is to take place.

To facilitate the implementation of the Union Plan, Member States will appoint national contact points and may decide to appoint liaison officers in third countries.

Strengthened partnerships with third countries

The EU framework will contribute to strengthening the EU's partnerships with third countries, in particular by demonstrating global solidarity with countries in regions to which a large number of persons in need of international protection has been displaced by helping to alleviate the pressure on those countries, fostering those countries’ capacity to improve reception and international protection conditions, and reducing irregular and dangerous onward movements of third-country nationals and stateless persons in need of international protection, in the context of migration.

The Regulation will strengthen the EU's contribution to international resettlement and humanitarian admission initiatives, in synergy with the commitments of other countries.

A High-Level Resettlement and Humanitarian Admission Committee has been set up. It is composed of representatives of the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission and the Member States. The Asylum Agency, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organisation for Migration are invited to attend the meetings of the High Committee.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 11.6.2024.

APPLICATION: from 12.6.2026.