As the European Union co-legislators are stepping up their efforts to reach an agreement on the next Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF), Eurodiaconia and over 15 other organisations are calling on the European Commission and National Authorities to ensure humane, transparent and effective use of EU funds to support migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers in the resettlement process.
The signatories welcome the EU’s efforts to advance the negotiations of the AMIF with a view to avoiding potential implementation gaps for EU-funded programmes in 2021 and advise that the following four aspects are taken into account:
- Fixed minimum percentages should be foreseen for the Fund’s specific objectives which may otherwise not receive sufficient resources in all Member States – the signatories confirm their recommendation for dedicated minimum percentages to projects and activities aiming at strengthening the Common European Asylum System (at least 20%) and to integration and regular migration (at least 20%). Minimum allocation priorities will better guarantee that AMIF supports fair and efficient asylum systems and responds to the integration needs of migrants and refugees. To ensure full accountability, the Regulation should set up minimum amounts as well as clearly defined actions which can be implemented for each of the four objectives.
- The Partnership Principle should be strengthened both at national and EU levels – the signatories call for a dedicated AMIF Partnership Principle would help ensure an expert participation of relevant actors, including refugees and migrants themselves, to help design, develop, monitor and evaluate AMIF programmes. In addition, the establishment of an EU-level Partnership Principle would ensure a structured dialogue between the European Commission and the other actors on the programming and implementation of activities under its direct management, including for emergency assistance.
- Resettlement should be expanded and remain a protection tool for refugees most at risks – the signatories are calling for increased efforts to guarantee direct access to asylum in the EU in light of the growing global resettlement needs and the limited resettlement spaces available globally.
- Activities related to the external dimension should be limited and more clearly defined – to avoid overlaps of EU internal and external funding on the same priority areas, the signatories support the proposal to introduce maximum ceilings for expenditure in non-EU countries, as well as the proposal to reserve the allocation of funding to activities identified with specific qualifying criteria.
For more information, please refer to the full text of the document.