The Commission presents an ex post evaluation reports for the period 2011 to 2013 of actions co-financed under the framework programme 'Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows'.

This consists of four instruments (the 'SOLID Funds'): the European Fund for the Integration of third-country nationals (EIF), the European Refugee Fund (ERF), the External Borders Fund (EBF) , and the European Return Fund (RF).

The aim of the SOLID General Programme was to provide financial support to Member States to help them better manage the Union's external borders, and better implement the common policies on asylum and migration.

This summary concerns the European Fund for the Integration of third-country nationals (EIF), which aimed to assist Member States in enabling third-country nationals of different backgrounds to fulfil the conditions of residence and to facilitate their integration into European societies, with an emphasis on those who had recently arrived in the country.

The ERF was allocated EUR 486 million under the SOLID funds and had an average absorption rate of 77%. No allocation of emergency assistance was envisaged for the EIF.

The evaluation shows that in the majority of Member States, the EIF had a concrete positive impact on the immediate integration process , improving access to services, employment and education in the host country, including language courses central to the integration process. This appeared to be the main focus of the funding used by Member States. The vast majority of Member States reported that the EIF enabled actions to be implemented which could not have been funded via national resources, confirming the added value of the Fund.

The report notes, however, that some Member States felt that the definition of the target group was too restrictive and others highlighted a lack of interest from NGOs/local administrations. Some Member States indicated that support should not have been limited to newly-arrived third-country nationals as integration measures may still be needed for second and third generation migrants. The Commission makes the following points:

for 2011-13, the EIF was found to have made a limited contribution to the development and implementation of admission procedures which support the integration of third-country nationals due to the fact that the annual programmes of several Member States did not specifically focus on this objective, which resulted in a limited number of actions implemented in this area; whilst contributing to policy capacity-building and coordination within Member States, the EIF had a limited impact on the exchange of experience, good practice and information between Member States; Member States considered that the EIF costs were proportional with the outputs of the projects and that it would not have been possible or would have been difficult to achieve the same results at a lower cost. Furthermore, only half of Member States reported that the effects of the 2007-10 and 2011-13 EIF actions lasted to a great extent after funding ended. The limited level of sustainability was mainly due to factors such as varying political commitment and support at national level; projects were also found to be coherent with and complementary to other actions targeting the integration of third-country nationals at national level and supported by other EU financial instruments, with some difficulties encountered due to different timing of EU funds and awareness of Community actions.

The report makes certain observation common to all four funds. In the case of the EIF, most of the main findings have already been taken into consideration under the asylum, migration and integration fund ( AMIF), which succeeded the ERF, EIF and RF, while others are given due consideration in the preparation of the next generation of Funds.

The report notes particularly that the absence of effective monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, common to all Member States, was a critical issue for the evaluation of the SOLID Funds. This problem was addressed for the AMIF and the ISF (which succeeded the EBF), with a first list of common indicators included in the legal base and a common monitoring and evaluation framework. In addition, the Commission notes issues relating the administrative burden, the allocation mechanism and the steering of funding to EU priorities, most of which have been considered under the AMIF.

COM(2018)0456
EUR-Lex

EUR-Lex
SWD(2018)0333

C(2011)9771

In accordance with the requirements of Council Decision 2007/435/EC, the Commission presents a report on the results achieved and on qualitative and quantitative aspects of implementation of the European Fund for the Integration of third-country nationals for the period 2007- 2009.

It recalls that for the period 2007-2013, the EU established the General Programme “Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows” with a total allocation of EUR 4 032 million, consisting of four Funds . One of these is the European Fund for the Integration of third-country nationals, established for the period 2007 – 2013 with an indicative total budget of EUR 825 million .

The report presents results achieved by the annual programmes 2007, 2008 and 2009 based on reports from Member States in the first half of 2010, together with information available to the Commission in the first quarter of 2011.

Budget implementation : the reporting period 2007-2009 covers 29 % of the overall reference amount of the Fund, with a total of EUR 239.9 m in EU appropriations available for both shared and direct management actions. For national programmes run under shared management, during the first three years of the Fund’s implementation, 78 annual programmes were approved, committing a total of some EUR 223.1 m. The five main beneficiaries were Spain (EUR 34.7 m), the United Kingdom (EUR 34.3 m) Germany (EUR 33.6 m) and Italy (EUR 30 m), followed by France (EUR 18.2 m,). Together, they received about 68% of the total amounts allocated to national programmes in the reporting period. When the resources provided under the annual programmes by the national budgets and by the beneficiaries are added to the contribution from the Fund, the total costs of all operations to be funded amounted to about € 371 m over the three-year period 2007-2009.

Implementation: by 30 June 2010, a total of 1949 projects had been funded by the Fund in Member States under the first three annual programmes 2007, 2008 and 2009. This is equivalent to an average, at EU level, of 75 funded projects in each Member State for the three annual programmes, albeit with significant differences from one Member State to another.

Assessment: the following assessment can be made in the light of the Fund’s implementation during the three first years of the 2007-2013 multiannual programmes:

1. Once the implementation problems for the 2007 and 2008 annual programmes were cleared up , the majority of Member States have been able to catch up and have implemented annual programmes from 2009 with no major delays. This does not exclude some residual difficulties, which the Commission is looking into with the Member States concerned. Projects completed so far generally meet their planned targets and, at least from the 2009 annual programme, most Member States expect to achieve the programmes’ objectives.

2. The Fund has gained acceptance in most Member States , and among project implementing organisations especially. This is evidenced, in particular, by the very high response rate to calls for proposals from the 2009 annual programme and the range of organisations involved in the Member States.

3. The Fund has filled a gap . It is perceived in most Member States as bringing genuine value added, whether Member States had previous experience with the integration of third-country nationals or not. On the other hand, the Fund’s programming and implementation framework seems to be too complex given the types of actions funded, the beneficiary organisations involved and the high number of projects.

4. In order to meet Member States’ concerns, the Commission undertook in 2011 a significant revision of the implementing rules for all four Funds in the General Programme. The largest part consists of a substantial simplification of the eligibility rules , with the new rules applicable from the implementation of the 2011 annual programmes (at the latest) and, subject to full compliance with the principles of equal treatment, transparency and non- discrimination, even to projects funded under the 2009 and 2010 annual programmes.15 Member States have welcomed the revision. Further suggestions for improvement from the Member States will be considered in the context of the proposals which the Commission will make this year on the future financial instruments in the area of Home Affairs, as part of the next Multi-Annual Financial Framework applicable from 2014.

In the two remaining years of the current programming period, the Fund’s budget appropriations are expected to increase hugely, to reach EUR 162.5 m for 2012 and EUR 182.5 m for 2013 (that is, in total for the two years, 42% of the Fund’s allocation for the whole period 2007-2013), compared to EUR 131.5 m in 2011 and EUR 110.5 m in 2010.16 Against this background, the Commission intends to discuss with Member States the best possible use of the resources available, in the light of policy and implementation needs in the coming years. In the Commission’s view, there are four main areas which would merit further action and focus:

· boosting the active participation of third-country nationals and the receiving society in the integration process, in the context of the ‘two-way process’: promoting comprehensive integration programmes, and third-country nationals’ involvement in relevant consultative bodies and networks; enhancing third-country nationals’ participation in collective life; enhancing the public's perception of migration, including knowledge of the contribution made by migration to the receiving society itself etc;

· increasing the effectiveness of integration measures which address the specific needs of vulnerable groups (women, young people and children, unaccompanied minors with a legal status, the elderly, victims of trafficking etc.): enhancing educational opportunities for children; promoting women’s role in integration, fostering their autonomy in society and improving their knowledge of rights and their participation in public life; promoting integration of unaccompanied minors who have been granted a legal status etc;

· fostering integration at local level and a bottom-up approach to integration , as well as multilevel cooperation between the different levels of governance involved in devising integration strategies and measures: supporting integration processes at local level, including partnerships involving all stakeholders concerned; improving local integration of third-country nationals in housing, schools, social assistance, health, education; supporting inclusive neighbourhoods and bottom-up initiatives for local integration etc;

· developing, in countries of origin, pre-departure measures supportive of integration, without making third-country nationals’ admission conditional on participation: information on, for example, visas and work permits, and on the language, institutions and values of the receiving country; vocational training to match skills with the actual needs of the receiving country’s labour market etc.

The Commission will examine with Member States how the priority areas could be given more support in the remaining annual programmes, starting with the 2012 annual programmes, which Member States have to submit by 1 November 2011.

COM(2011)0847
EUR-Lex

The Commission presents a Communication on the application of the criteria for the distribution of resources among the Member States under the External Borders Fund , the European Fund for the Integration of third-country nationals and the European Return Fund , as required by the Decisions establishing the Funds. These were established by the General Programme Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows for the period 2007-2013 with a total allocation of EUR 4.020 million.

The report presents the approach on the application of the criteria for the distribution of the resources while the accompanying staff working document outlines in detail the results for the Member States. By presenting the data, the methodology used and the results of the application of the criteria, these documents may help inform the thinking of Member States, the institutions and stakeholders on the future of EU funding in the area of the management of migration flows under the next multi-annual financial framework.

For each Fund the annual distribution of the available EU financial resources among the Member States is based on specific and objective criteria which reflect the situation of the Member State: e.g. the size of the external borders to be protected and the number of persons crossing them; the number of legally staying third-country nationals to be integrated into society; the number of return decisions to be implemented. The definition of the criteria is the most concrete expression of the principle of solidarity underlying the Funds in the sense that those Member States most affected by the management of migration flows are meant to benefit the most from EU funding. Each year the Commission draws upon both EU statistics from EUROSTAT and ad hoc data supplied by Member States to do the calculations.

This report focuses on the calculations for the financial years 2007 – 2011. The data collection process was reinforced as a result of the entry into force of Regulation No 862/2007/EC (Migration Statistics Regulation).

The basic acts for the four Funds came into force in the summer of 2007, a few weeks before the first calculations for the resources to Member States were due.

Thanks to the preparatory work between the Commission and the Member States on the data for the allocations in anticipation to the entry into force, the Commission was in a position to submit to Member States by July 2007 the information on the allocations for 2007 and 2008. Together with the extrapolations for the period 2009-2013, these figures guided Member States in setting the indicative financial framework as the basis of the multiannual strategy for the implementation of the Funds.

The Commission states that in the course of the 2007-2011 financial years, the principles and work methods for data collection, gradually established and defined each year, have come to bear fruit; the last exercise has shown how they have increasingly simplified and facilitated the work on the calculations. The methodology used has proved effective, and the Commission was able to submit the calculations to Member States in general on time.

The Migration Statistics Regulation is increasingly the backbone of the system for data collection under the Return Fund and the Integration Fund . The system put in place for data collection on the External Borders Fund, while different, is also proving adequate . The checks put in place in either system, while not always optimal given inherent limitations in data sources, validation tools and the administrative capacity for data analysis in the EU, form nevertheless a solid basis on which to continue making the calculations for future financial years. In terms of the definitions of the data collection, some differences may remain between the Migration Statistics Regulation and the criteria laid down in the basic acts. In practice, solutions have been found on a bilateral basis and efforts to improve co-operation and exchange of data between Member States and the Commission, including EUROSTAT, will continue. It should be noted that the compilation of European Statistics is a co-operative process that greatly depends on the reliability of the data supplied by national authorities.

Given the particular importance of ensuring the quality of the statistics used for the allocation of the four Funds, a specific quality assurance programme has been put in place by EUROSTAT and there will be on going work to continue quality improvements.

While the Commission was in general able to deliver the final calculations on time thanks to all these factors, it has to be recognised that the amount and complexity of the data to be collected and verified each year imposes a recurrent administrative burden on the Member States and the Commission. There may be more cost-effective ways of ensuring the application of distribution keys which seek to express the principle of solidarity underlying the Funds.

The External Borders Fund : the final distribution of the resources shows that the main beneficiaries of the Fund were the Member States with the highest responsibility in implementing the common policy for the management of external borders:

Spain, Greece and Italy receive 48% of the Fund's allocation for the period 2007-2011; if France, Malta, and Cyprus are added to the three main beneficiaries, the distribution of the Fund shows that 60% of the financial assistance is concentrated on Member States bordering on the Mediterranean sea and the Canary islands area; at the same time, Member States having a land border in the East (Poland, Hungary, Finland, Slovenia, Romania, Lithuania, Estonia, Bulgaria, Latvia, and Slovakia) account for 25% of the total allocation; the results confirm the purpose of the Fund as an instrument of financial solidarity on integrated border management in the EU.

The European Fund for the Integration of third-country nationals : the five main beneficiaries are Italy, United Kingdom, Spain, Germany and France, accounting for nearly 70% of the allocations. In light of the size of the immigration to these Member States and the challenges faced by the EU in this area in the period 2007-2010, the results confirm the purpose of the Fund as an instrument of financial solidarity for the development of integration policies in the EU.

The European Return Fund : the three main beneficiaries are Greece, United Kingdom and Spain. Together with France, Italy and Germany, these countries account for nearly 67% of the allocations. In light of the size of the migratory pressure on these countries and bearing in mind the shift in flows of irregular entries over the years from the Spanish coast (Canary Islands) towards the Central Mediterranean route to the Greek borders with Albania and Turkey, the results confirm the purpose of the Fund as an instrument of financial solidarity for return management in the EU.

The results of the application of the criteria are generally perceived as satisfactory. The application of the criteria has served the objectives as defined by the European Parliament and the Council in the basic acts establishing the Funds of the General Programme Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows since they have converged the bulk of the EU resources available around those Member States most affected by the challenges posed by the management of migration flows of third-country nationals into the EU. Under these circumstances, it is not deemed necessary to come forward with proposals to amend the criteria.

COM(2011)0448
EUR-Lex

SEC(2011)0940
EUR-Lex

PURPOSE: to establish the European Fund for the Integration of third-country nationals .

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Council Decision 2007/435/EC establishing the European Fund for the Integration of third-country nationals for the period 2007 to 013 as part of the General programme ‘Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows’.

BACKGROUND: the EU is committed to the progressive establishment of an area of freedom, security and justice. These three key objectives are to be developed in parallel and to the same degree of intensity to allow for a balanced approach based on the principles of democracy, respect for fundamental rights and freedoms, and the rule of law.

In 2004 the European Council adopted the Hague Programme in which the need for the EU to contribute towards an equitable and effective international protection system and to provide access to protection and durable solutions was underlined. The Hague Programme also called for the establishment of appropriate structures involving the national asylum services of the Member States in order to facilitate practical and collaborative cooperation; the ultimate aim being an EU-wide single procedure and the joint compilation, assessment and application of country of origin information.

The “Solidarity and Management of Migration flows” general programme is to support the principle of solidarity in managing people flows by ensuring a fair share of responsibilities between the Member States (as concerns the financial burden arising from the introduction of an integrated management of the Union’s external borders) and the implementation of common policies on asylum and immigration.

For these policies to succeed funding is needed. For this reason the EU has adopted four legislative acts setting up four separate, though related, Funds:

· The European Refugee Fund

· The External Borders Fund

· The Fund for the Integration of third country nationals

· The European Return Fund

CONTENT: This Decision establishes for the period from 1 January 2007 to 31 December 2013 the European Fund for integration of third-country nationals (the Fund), in order to contribute to the strengthening of the area of freedom, security and justice and the application of the principle of solidarity between the Member States.

The Decision defines the objectives to which the Fund contributes, its implementation, the available financial resources and the distribution criteria for the allocation of the available financial resources. It establishes the Fund's management rules, including financial rules, as well as monitoring and control mechanisms based on the sharing of responsibilities between the Commission and the Member States.

Third-country nationals who are on the territory of a third country and who are complying with specific pre-departure measures and/or conditions set out in national law, including those relating to the ability to integrate in the society of this Member State fall under the scope of this Decision. However, third-country nationals who have applied for asylum in respect of which a final decision has not yet been taken, or enjoy refugee or subsidiary protection status, or qualify as refugees or are eligible for subsidiary protection in accordance with Council Directive 2004/83/EC shall be excluded from the scope of the Decision.

General objective of the Fund: this is to support the efforts made by the Member States in enabling third-country nationals of different economic, social, cultural, religious, linguistic and ethnic backgrounds to fulfil the conditions of residence and to facilitate their integration into the European societies. The Fund shall primarily focus on actions relating to the integration of newly arrived third-country nationals.

Specific objectives: the Fund will contribute to the following specific objectives:

facilitation of the development and implementation of admission procedures relevant to and supportive of the integration process of third-country nationals. Eligible actions under this heading include: facilitating the development and implementation by Member States of admission procedures; rendering the implementation of admission procedures more effective and accessible to third-country nationals; and preparing third-country nationals for their integration into host society in a better way; development and implementation of the integration process of newly-arrived third-country nationals in Member States. Eligible actions in the Member States include: setting up programmes aiming at introducing newly arrived third-country nationals to the host society; developing the quality of such programmes and activities at local and regional level; and reinforcing the capacity of such programmes and activities to reach out to particular groups, such as dependants of persons subject to admission procedures, children, women, elderly, illiterate or persons with disabilities; increasing of the capacity of Member States to develop, implement, monitor and evaluate policies and measures for the integration of third-country nationals; exchange of information, best practices and cooperation in and between Member States in developing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating policies and measures for the integration of third-country nationals. Eligible actions in the Member States under these latter two headings include: improving the access of third-country nationals to public and private goods and services, inter alia by intermediary services, interpretation and translation services; building sustainable organisational structures for integration and diversity management; developing intercultural training, capacity building and diversity management, training of staff within public and private service providers, including educational institutions.

Financial provisions : The financial envelope for the implementation of actions financed by the Fund shall be EUR 825 million (please refer to the financial statement).

Annual distribution of resources for eligible actions in the Member States: each Member State shall receive a fixed amount of EUR 500 000 from the Fund's annual allocation. This amount shall be fixed at EUR 500 000 per annum for Member States which will accede to the European Union during the period from 2007 to 2013, for the remaining part of the period from 2007 to 2013 as from the year following their accession. The remainder of the available annual resources shall be broken down between the Member States as follows:

(a) 40 % in proportion to the average of the total number of legally residing third-country nationals in Member States over the previous three years; and

(b) 60 % in proportion to the number of third-country nationals who have obtained an authorisation issued by a Member State to reside on its territory over the previous three years.

However, for the purpose of the calculation the following categories of persons shall not be included: (a) seasonal workers; (b) third country nationals admitted for the purposes of studies, pupil exchange, unremunerated training or voluntary service in accordance with Council Directive 2004/114/EC; (c) third country nationals admitted for purposes of scientific research ; (d) third country nationals who have received a renewal of an authorisation issued by a Member State or a change of status, including third-country nationals who acquire long-term resident status in accordance with Council Directive 2003/109/EC.

Reporting : On the basis of strategic guidelines adopted by the Commission, each Member State should prepare a multiannual programming document taking into account its specific situation and needs and setting out its development strategy that should constitute the framework for the implementation of the actions to be listed in the annual programmes. The final report on the implementation of the annual programme shall include the following information in order to obtain a clear view of the implementation of the programme: a) the financial and operational implementation of the annual programme; b) the progress made in implementing the multi-annual programme and its priorities in relation to its specific, verifiable targets, with a quantification, wherever and whenever they lend themselves to quantification, of the indicators; c) the steps taken by the responsible authority to ensure the quality and effectiveness of implementation, in particular: i) monitoring and evaluation measures, including data collection arrangements; ii) a summary of any significant problems encountered in implementing the operational programme and any measures taken; iii) the use made of technical assistance; d) the measures taken to provide information on and make public the annual and multi-annual programmes.

Territorial provisions : the United Kingdom and Ireland have notified their wish to take part in the adoption and application of this Decision. On the other hand, Denmark shall not participate in this Decision.

Review : The Council shall review this Decision on the basis of a proposal from the Commission by 30 June 2013.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 29/06/2007. This Decision shall apply from 1 January 2007.

Decision 2007/435
OJ L 168 28.06.2007, p. 0018

The Council adopted conclusions on strengthening of integration policies in the European Union.

The Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States stress the need to promote a global and coherent approach to integration policies, migrant flow management, development and cooperation with the countries of origin. They recognise the complementary linkage between immigration and integration.

The Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States recognise that integration is a dynamic two-way process involving both immigrants and the host society, with responsibilities for both sides, which should be underpinned by an agreed value system. Involving the host society in this process is one of the major challenges to the achievement of successful integration policies and long-term social cohesion. All individuals must assume responsibility in this integration process – as well as state institutions, political parties, media, businesses and civil society. Migrants who aim to stay permanently or for the long term should make a deliberate effort to integrate, in particular learning the language of their host society, and understanding the basic values of the European Union.

They further recognise the role of local stakeholders, including in particular, the role of local government and cities in designing and implementing integration programmes, given that integration takes place primarily at a local level.

The Council and the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States emphasise the need to continue to strengthen the integration policies of Member States with a view to managing diverse societies, counteracting all forms of discrimination and intolerance, maintaining social cohesion and ensuring that immigrants are able to reach their full potential and are able to participate to the fullest extent possible in the social, economic, cultural and civic life of the relevant Member State.

The Council invites the National Contact Points on Integration (NCPI), supported by the Commission, to consider approaches to integration that involve the society as a whole, including in particular to:

explore and clarify the various conceptions of and approaches to ideas of participation and the various conceptions of citizenship under discussion, taking into account the relevant EC acquis that relate to the integration of immigrants and Member States’ Constitutional and legal systems as well as exchange views and experiences on naturalisation systems applied by Member States; examine the added value of developing common European modules for migrant integration as a full project in the light of experience at national levels with introduction and language courses, the involvement of the host society, promoting the participation of immigrants in local life and various other aspects of the integration process; analyse measures that can be targeted at the host society in order to improve the public image of migration and to enhance the capacity of public institutions and the media to reflect in a balanced way and manage migration-related diversity in society; explore how integration programmes and policies can contribute to the prevention of social alienation and radicalisation; promote the development of common indicators and indexes that could be used by Member States on a voluntary basis in order to assess integration policy outcomes.

The Council invites incoming Presidencies and the Commission to proactively develop the Common Agenda for Integration. The Commission is further invited to report in particular to the above Ministerial Conference on Integration on the results of the tasks assigned to the NCPI network. This report should be the starting point for discussion on future priorities.

SP(2007)0303

Results of vote in Parliament

The European Parliament approved four programmes as part of the Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows framework programme. The framework aims to facilitate a fair share of responsibilities between Member States managing the external border and the implementation of common asylum and immigration policies. Four funds are created: the External Borders Fund (COD/2005/0047), the European Refugee Fund (COD/2005/0046), the Return Fund (COD/2005/0049) and the Integration Fund (COD/2005/0048).

The Integration Fund (starting 1 January 2007) is particularly targeted at new immigrants and provides EUR 825 million to Member States to favour their integration process. It will support the forthcoming Framework Directive on the rights of legally residing migrants and projects fashioned to promote the Community integration strategy. This new instrument will also help Member States to share their experiences and best practices, thereby strengthening teamwork at European level. Programmes covering civic orientation, language, history and cultural are all supported.

The European Parliament adopted a resolution drafted by Barbara Kudrycka (EPP, Poland) and made several amendments to the Commission’s proposal, which were compromise amendments that had previously been agreed with Council.

The main amendments were as follows:

- the financial reference amount or the implementation of actions financed by the Fund for the period from 1 January 2007 until 31 December 2013 shall be EUR 825 million. Each Member State shall receive a fixed amount of EUR 500,000 from the Fund's annual allocation;

- third-country nationals who are on the territory of a third country and who are complying with specific pre-departure measures and/or conditions set out in national law, including those relating to the ability to integrate in the society of this Member State fall under the scope of the Decision. However, third-country nationals who have made an application for asylum in respect of which a final decision has not yet been taken, or enjoy refugee or subsidiary protection status, or qualify as refugees or are eligible for subsidiary protection in accordance with Council Directive 2004/83/EC, are excluded from the scope of the Decision;

- the general objective of the Fund is to support the efforts of Member States in enabling third-country nationals of different economic, social, cultural, religious, linguistic and ethnic backgrounds to fulfil the conditions of residence and to facilitate their integration into the European societies;

- the Fund shall primarily focus on actions relating to the integration of newly arrived third-country nationals;

- the national integration strategies for third-country nationals must take into account the principle that integration is a two-way dynamic process of mutual accommodation by all immigrants and residents of Member States;

- the Fund’s specific objectives now include exchange of information, best practices and co-operation in and between Member States in developing, implementing, monitoring and evaluating policies and measures for the integration of third country nationals;

- actions supported under the Fund now include setting up programmes and activities aiming at introducing newly arrived third country nationals to the host society and enabling them to acquire basic knowledge about the host society's language, history, institutions, socio economic features, cultural life and the fundamental norms and values, as well as complement such existing programmes and activities. They also include improving the access of third-country nationals to public and private goods and services, and building sustainable organisational structures for integration and diversity management;

- in the framework of the implementation of national programming, Member States must select projects for financing on the basis of the following minimum criteria : the situation and requirements in the Member State; the cost-effectiveness of the expenditure, inter alia in view of the number of persons concerned by the project; the experience, expertise, reliability and financial contribution of the organisation applying for funding and any partner organisation; the extent to which the projects complement other action funded by the general budget of the European Union or as part of national programmes;

- the annual amount set aside for technical assistance may not exceed: 7% of the total annual amount of co-financing allocated to the Member State, plus EUR 30,000 for 2007-2010 and 4 % of the total annual amount of co-financing allocated to the Member State, plus EUR 30,000 for 2011-2013;

- the Commission shall adopt the strategic guidelines relating to the multiannual programming period on 31 May 2007 at the latest;

- the Commission shall review the strategic guidelines and where necessary, adopt, on 31 March 2010 at the latest, new strategic guidelines for the period 2011- 2013. If such strategic guidelines are adopted, each Member States shall re-examine its multi-annual programme and where appropriate, revise it;

- the Commission shall lay down guidelines to ensure the visibility of the funding granted under the Decision.

T6-0583/2006

A6-0419/2006

A6-0419/2006

PE367.620

PE367.803

PE370.170

PE368.066

CES0234/2006

CDR0144/2005

PURPOSE: proposal to establish the European Fund for the Integration of Third-country nationals for the period 2007-2013 as part of the General programme ‘Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows’.

PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.

CONTEXT: The Communication establishing a Framework programme on “Solidarity and the management of migration flows” is part of a coherent set of proposals aiming at providing an adequate support to an area of freedom, security and justice under the financial perspectives 2007-2013. Indeed, the three key objectives of freedom, security and justice are to be developed in parallel and to the same degree of intensity, thus allowing for a balanced approach, based on the principles of democracy, respect for fundamental rights and freedoms, and the rule of law. Each of these objectives is supported by a Framework programme, providing for the necessary coherence between relevant interventions in each policy area, and clearly linking political objectives and the resources available to support them. Furthermore, this structure represents a major simplification and rationalisation of existing financial support in the area of freedom, justice and security, thus allowing for greater flexibility in the allocation of priorities and increasing overall transparency.

The key objective for the “Solidarity and management of migration flows” general programme is as follows: to support the principle of solidarity in managing people flows by ensuring a fair share of responsibilities between Member States as concerns the financial burden arising from the introduction of an integrated management of the Union’s external borders and from the implementation of common policies on asylum and immigration.

This solidarity will support the implementation of Community legislation relating to four complementary dimensions of management of migration flows:

- integrated management of external borders, in order to ensure an equivalent and uniform level of protection at the external borders;

- asylum policy, as is already the case under the European Refugee Fund in order to support the development and implementation of a common European asylum policy based on solidarity between Member States and promote a balance in the efforts made by Member States in bearing the consequences of receiving refugees and displaced persons;

- fight against illegal immigration, and in particular the return of illegally resident third country nationals in the EU or persons irregularly migrating towards the EU;

- admission and integration of third country nationals, in particular as regards their social, civic and cultural integration, in order to enable them to settle and take actively part in all aspects of European societies.

Consequently, four Funds are set up as part of the framework programme.

(Please also see proposals under procedure references COD/2005/0046, CNS/2005/0047, and COD/2005/0049.)

CONTENT: Migration from third countries into the EU is a daily reality in each Member State . While the relative share of third country nationals varies considerably in Member States, all are confronted with the phenomenon of increasing ethnic, cultural and linguistic diversity in their societies and the need to manage ‘intercultural relationships’. The successful integration of immigrants is both a matter of social cohesion and a prerequisite for economic efficiency. In the context of a relaunched Lisbon agenda, it is crucial to ensure integration of both established and future immigrants.

The six main policy objectives of the Fund are:

- Facilitation of the organization and implementation of admission procedures for migrants, by strengthening their integration component and anticipating the needs of third-country nationals;

- Contribution to the organisation and implementation of introduction programmes and activities for third country nationals, by way of capacity building, policy development and implementation;

- Increase of civic, cultural and political participation of third country nationals in the host society, in order to promote their active citizenship and recognition of fundamental values;

- Strengthening of the capacity of Member States’ public and private service providers to interact with third country nationals and their organizations and to answer in a better way the needs of different groups of third country nationals;

- Strengthening of the ability of the host society to adjust to increasing diversity by targeting integration actions at the host population;

-Increase of the capacity of Member States to develop, monitor and evaluate integration policies.

Besides a solidarity mechanism, the Fund also provides for a policy framework to support the exchange of experiences, cooperation and best practices between Member States, on the initiative of the Commission (“Community actions”), in particular in order to continue the encouragement of a more structured policy development.

The proposal goes on to discuss the allocation of resources:

- many Member States (and in particular the new Member States) would need to make some structural investments to successfully integrate third country nationals. Member States will be allocated a fixed amount each year. This amount will be higher for the period 2007 - 2013 for the states which acceded to the European Union on 1 May 2004. Moreover, this amount will also be higher for Member States which accede to the European Union in the period 2007 – 2013 for the duration of the period 2007 - 2013 from the year after their accession.

- the bulk of the allocations to the Member States will be determined on the basis of a distribution key defining the relative share of Member States in relation to third country nationals legally staying within the EU. The distribution key consists of two components: one relating to stock data and the other to flow data of third country nationals. For the first component the average will be taken of the total number of third country nationals legally present in the Member State over a period of three years in order to smooth out any accidental, non representative increases or decreases. For the second component of the total number of third country nationals who have obtained an authorisation

to stay legally on the territory of the Member States (either under national or Community law) in the last three years will be added up. This total would then roughly correspond to the number of persons likely to benefit from integration measures for newcomers, assuming that introduction programmes and other ‘welcome’ activities may occur after the year in which the persons were admitted and may involve a series of courses taking place over a period of one or two years.

Since the Commission proposes that the Fund focuses mainly on third country nationals having recently arrived and been admitted by a Member State to reside in its territory (‘newcomers’), the second component would be the most important one and would therefore be weighed more than the first (60%). The purpose is to direct the Fund to support for those Member States which have only recently started to welcome migrants or to those which are likely to become immigration countries in the period covered by these financial perspectives.

The emphasis on newcomers should be reviewed.

Programming is organised on a multiannual level, with two programming periods: 2007-2010 and 2011-2013.

The financial allocation for the Fund for the 2007-2013 period is EUR 1.771million.

This proposal is one of four draft decisions which comprise the framework programme “Solidarity and management of migration flows”. (Please refer to COM/2005/0123). Four Funds are set up as part of the framework programme.

The proposal on the Integration Fund, along with the draft decisions establishing the External Border Fund (COD/2005/0047), the European Refugee Fund (COD/2005/0046) and the Return Fund (COD/2005/0049) provides for the creation of mechanisms ensuring a coherent approach of the programming, implementation and evaluation of the four instruments.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS :

Budget lines : Financial Perspectives 2007 - 2013: Heading 3.

Duration of the action and of the financial impact: 2007-2013.

Financial Resources :

Summary of commitment appropriations and payment appropriations (totals in EUR million to 3 decimal places):

Operational expenditure:

European Refugee Fund : 1.102,800;

Emergency measures: 68,600;

Integration of Third country Nationals: 1.756,000;

European Return Fund: 749,000;

External Borders Fund: 2.135,000.

Administrative expenditure within reference amount:

Technical and administrative assistance (NDA):

European Refugee Fund: 11,200;

Emergency measures: 1,400;

Integration of Third country Nationals: 15,000;

European Return Fund: 10,000;

External Borders Fund: 17,000.

Total reference amount:

Commitment and payment appropriations : 5.866,000.

Administrative expenditure not included within reference amount:

Human resources and associated expenditure (NDA): 77,139.

Administrative costs, other than human resources and associated costs, not included in reference amount (NDA): 5,292.

Total indicative financial cost of intervention including cost of human resources: 5.948,431.

Co-financing details : Revenue in absolute terms: EUR 3.7 million in 2007 rising to EUR 12.5 million by 2013.

Staff to be assigned to management of the action using existing and/or additional resources (number of posts/FTEs): total staff in 2007 will be 70,25 rising to 126 by 2013.

Total Administrative expenditure, other than human resources and associated costs (NOT included in reference amount): 68,015.

COM(2005)0123
EUR-Lex

SEC(2005)0435
EUR-Lex

PURPOSE: proposal to establish the European Fund for the Integration of Third-country nationals for the period 2007-2013 as part of the General programme ‘Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows’.

PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.

CONTEXT: The Communication establishing a Framework programme on “Solidarity and the management of migration flows” is part of a coherent set of proposals aiming at providing an adequate support to an area of freedom, security and justice under the financial perspectives 2007-2013. Indeed, the three key objectives of freedom, security and justice are to be developed in parallel and to the same degree of intensity, thus allowing for a balanced approach, based on the principles of democracy, respect for fundamental rights and freedoms, and the rule of law. Each of these objectives is supported by a Framework programme, providing for the necessary coherence between relevant interventions in each policy area, and clearly linking political objectives and the resources available to support them. Furthermore, this structure represents a major simplification and rationalisation of existing financial support in the area of freedom, justice and security, thus allowing for greater flexibility in the allocation of priorities and increasing overall transparency.

The key objective for the “Solidarity and management of migration flows” general programme is as follows: to support the principle of solidarity in managing people flows by ensuring a fair share of responsibilities between Member States as concerns the financial burden arising from the introduction of an integrated management of the Union’s external borders and from the implementation of common policies on asylum and immigration.

This solidarity will support the implementation of Community legislation relating to four complementary dimensions of management of migration flows:

- integrated management of external borders, in order to ensure an equivalent and uniform level of protection at the external borders;

- asylum policy, as is already the case under the European Refugee Fund in order to support the development and implementation of a common European asylum policy based on solidarity between Member States and promote a balance in the efforts made by Member States in bearing the consequences of receiving refugees and displaced persons;

- fight against illegal immigration, and in particular the return of illegally resident third country nationals in the EU or persons irregularly migrating towards the EU;

- admission and integration of third country nationals, in particular as regards their social, civic and cultural integration, in order to enable them to settle and take actively part in all aspects of European societies.

Consequently, four Funds are set up as part of the framework programme.

(Please also see proposals under procedure references COD/2005/0046, CNS/2005/0047, and COD/2005/0049.)

CONTENT: Migration from third countries into the EU is a daily reality in each Member State . While the relative share of third country nationals varies considerably in Member States, all are confronted with the phenomenon of increasing ethnic, cultural and linguistic diversity in their societies and the need to manage ‘intercultural relationships’. The successful integration of immigrants is both a matter of social cohesion and a prerequisite for economic efficiency. In the context of a relaunched Lisbon agenda, it is crucial to ensure integration of both established and future immigrants.

The six main policy objectives of the Fund are:

- Facilitation of the organization and implementation of admission procedures for migrants, by strengthening their integration component and anticipating the needs of third-country nationals;

- Contribution to the organisation and implementation of introduction programmes and activities for third country nationals, by way of capacity building, policy development and implementation;

- Increase of civic, cultural and political participation of third country nationals in the host society, in order to promote their active citizenship and recognition of fundamental values;

- Strengthening of the capacity of Member States’ public and private service providers to interact with third country nationals and their organizations and to answer in a better way the needs of different groups of third country nationals;

- Strengthening of the ability of the host society to adjust to increasing diversity by targeting integration actions at the host population;

-Increase of the capacity of Member States to develop, monitor and evaluate integration policies.

Besides a solidarity mechanism, the Fund also provides for a policy framework to support the exchange of experiences, cooperation and best practices between Member States, on the initiative of the Commission (“Community actions”), in particular in order to continue the encouragement of a more structured policy development.

The proposal goes on to discuss the allocation of resources:

- many Member States (and in particular the new Member States) would need to make some structural investments to successfully integrate third country nationals. Member States will be allocated a fixed amount each year. This amount will be higher for the period 2007 - 2013 for the states which acceded to the European Union on 1 May 2004. Moreover, this amount will also be higher for Member States which accede to the European Union in the period 2007 – 2013 for the duration of the period 2007 - 2013 from the year after their accession.

- the bulk of the allocations to the Member States will be determined on the basis of a distribution key defining the relative share of Member States in relation to third country nationals legally staying within the EU. The distribution key consists of two components: one relating to stock data and the other to flow data of third country nationals. For the first component the average will be taken of the total number of third country nationals legally present in the Member State over a period of three years in order to smooth out any accidental, non representative increases or decreases. For the second component of the total number of third country nationals who have obtained an authorisation

to stay legally on the territory of the Member States (either under national or Community law) in the last three years will be added up. This total would then roughly correspond to the number of persons likely to benefit from integration measures for newcomers, assuming that introduction programmes and other ‘welcome’ activities may occur after the year in which the persons were admitted and may involve a series of courses taking place over a period of one or two years.

Since the Commission proposes that the Fund focuses mainly on third country nationals having recently arrived and been admitted by a Member State to reside in its territory (‘newcomers’), the second component would be the most important one and would therefore be weighed more than the first (60%). The purpose is to direct the Fund to support for those Member States which have only recently started to welcome migrants or to those which are likely to become immigration countries in the period covered by these financial perspectives.

The emphasis on newcomers should be reviewed.

Programming is organised on a multiannual level, with two programming periods: 2007-2010 and 2011-2013.

The financial allocation for the Fund for the 2007-2013 period is EUR 1.771million.

This proposal is one of four draft decisions which comprise the framework programme “Solidarity and management of migration flows”. (Please refer to COM/2005/0123). Four Funds are set up as part of the framework programme.

The proposal on the Integration Fund, along with the draft decisions establishing the External Border Fund (COD/2005/0047), the European Refugee Fund (COD/2005/0046) and the Return Fund (COD/2005/0049) provides for the creation of mechanisms ensuring a coherent approach of the programming, implementation and evaluation of the four instruments.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS :

Budget lines : Financial Perspectives 2007 - 2013: Heading 3.

Duration of the action and of the financial impact: 2007-2013.

Financial Resources :

Summary of commitment appropriations and payment appropriations (totals in EUR million to 3 decimal places):

Operational expenditure:

European Refugee Fund : 1.102,800;

Emergency measures: 68,600;

Integration of Third country Nationals: 1.756,000;

European Return Fund: 749,000;

External Borders Fund: 2.135,000.

Administrative expenditure within reference amount:

Technical and administrative assistance (NDA):

European Refugee Fund: 11,200;

Emergency measures: 1,400;

Integration of Third country Nationals: 15,000;

European Return Fund: 10,000;

External Borders Fund: 17,000.

Total reference amount:

Commitment and payment appropriations : 5.866,000.

Administrative expenditure not included within reference amount:

Human resources and associated expenditure (NDA): 77,139.

Administrative costs, other than human resources and associated costs, not included in reference amount (NDA): 5,292.

Total indicative financial cost of intervention including cost of human resources: 5.948,431.

Co-financing details : Revenue in absolute terms: EUR 3.7 million in 2007 rising to EUR 12.5 million by 2013.

Staff to be assigned to management of the action using existing and/or additional resources (number of posts/FTEs): total staff in 2007 will be 70,25 rising to 126 by 2013.

Total Administrative expenditure, other than human resources and associated costs (NOT included in reference amount): 68,015.

COM(2005)0123
EUR-Lex