Regulation (EU) No 516/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 establishing the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, amending Council Decision 2008/381/EC and repealing Decisions No 573/2007/EC and No 575/2007/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Decision 2007/435/EC

CHAPTER I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1

Purpose and scope

This Regulation lays down:

(a) the objectives of financial support and the eligible actions;

(b) the general framework for the implementation of eligible actions;

(c) the available financial resources and their distribution;

(d) the principles and mechanism for the establishment of common Union resettlement priorities; and

(e) the financial assistance provided for the activities of the European Migration Network.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purpose of this Regulation, the following definitions apply:

(a) ‘resettlement’ means the process whereby, on a request from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (‘UNHCR’) based on a person’s need for international protection, third-country nationals are transferred from a third country and established in a Member State where they are permitted to reside with one of the following statuses: (i) ‘refugee status’ within the meaning of point (e) of Article 2 of Directive 2011/95/EU; (ii) ‘subsidiary protection status’ within the meaning of point (g) of Article 2 of Directive 2011/95/EU; or (iii) any other status which offers similar rights and benefits under national and Union law as those referred to in points (i) and (ii);

(b) ‘other humanitarian admission programmes’ means an ad hoc process whereby a Member State admits a number of third-country nationals to stay on its territory for a temporary period of time in order to protect them from urgent humanitarian crises due to events such as political developments or conflicts;

(c) ‘international protection’ means refugee status and subsidiary protection status within the meaning of Directive 2011/95/EU;

(d) ‘return’ means the process of a third-country national going back, whether in voluntary compliance with an obligation to return or enforced, as defined in Article 3 of Directive 2008/115/EC;

(e) ‘third-country national’ means any person who is not a citizen of the Union within the meaning of Article 20(1) TFEU. Reference to third-country nationals shall be understood to include stateless persons and persons with undetermined nationality;

(f) ‘removal’ means the enforcement of the obligation to return, namely the physical transportation out of the Member State, as defined in Article 3 of Directive 2008/115/EC;

(g) ‘voluntary departure’ means compliance with the obligation to return within the time-limit fixed for that purpose in the return decision, as defined in Article 3 of Directive 2008/115/EC;

(h) ‘unaccompanied minor’ means a third-country national below the age of 18 years, who arrives or arrived on the territory of a Member State unaccompanied by an adult responsible for him/her whether by law or the national practice of the Member State concerned, and for as long as he/she is not effectively taken into the care of such a person; it includes a minor who is left unaccompanied after he/she entered the territory of a Member State;

(i) ‘vulnerable person’ means any third-country national who complies with the definition under Union law relevant to the policy area of action supported under the Fund;

(j) ‘family member’ means any third-country national who complies with the definition under Union law relevant to the policy area of action supported under the Fund;

(k) ‘emergency situation’ means a situation resulting from: (i) heavy migratory pressure in one or more Member States characterised by a large and disproportionate inflow of third-country nationals, which places significant and urgent demands on their reception and detention facilities, asylum systems and procedures; (ii) the implementation of temporary protection mechanisms within the meaning of Directive 2001/55/EC; or (iii) heavy migratory pressure in third countries where refugees are stranded due to events such as political developments or conflicts.

Article 3

Objectives

Within its general objective, the Fund shall contribute to the following common specific objectives:

(a) to strengthen and develop all aspects of the Common European Asylum System, including its external dimension;

(b) to support legal migration to the Member States in accordance with their economic and social needs, such as labour market needs, while safeguarding the integrity of the immigration systems of Member States, and to promote the effective integration of third-country nationals;

(c) to enhance fair and effective return strategies in the Member States which contribute to combating illegal immigration, with an emphasis on sustainability of return and effective readmission in the countries of origin and transit;

(d) to enhance solidarity and responsibility-sharing between the Member States, in particular towards those most affected by migration and asylum flows, including through practical cooperation.

The achievement of the specific objectives of the Fund shall be evaluated in accordance with Article 55(2) of Regulation (EU) No 514/2014 using common indicators as set out in Annex IV to this Regulation and programme-specific indicators included in national programmes.

Article 4

Partnership

For the purposes of the Fund, the partnership referred to in Article 12 of Regulation (EU) No 514/2014 shall include relevant international organisations, non-governmental organisations and social partners.

CHAPTER II

COMMON EUROPEAN ASYLUM SYSTEM

Article 5

Reception and asylum systems

Within the specific objective laid down in point (a) of the first subparagraph of Article 3(2) of this Regulation, in the light of the outcome of the policy dialogue as provided for in Article 13 of Regulation (EU) No 514/2014, and in accordance with the objectives of the national programmes laid down in Article 19 of this Regulation, the Fund shall support actions focusing on one or more of the following categories of third-country nationals:

(a) those who enjoy refugee status or subsidiary protection status within the meaning of Directive 2011/95/EU;

(b) those who have applied for one of the forms of international protection referred to in point (a) and have not yet received a final decision;

(c) those who enjoy temporary protection within the meaning of Directive 2001/55/EC;

(d) those who are being or have been resettled in or transferred from a Member State.

As regards reception conditions and asylum procedures, the Fund shall support, in particular, the following actions focusing on the categories of persons referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph:

(a) the provision of material aid, including assistance at the border, education, training, support services, health and psychological care;

(b) the provision of support services such as translation and interpretation, education, training, including language training, and other initiatives which are consistent with the status of the person concerned;

(c) the setting-up and improvement of administrative structures, systems and training for staff and relevant authorities to ensure effective and easy access to asylum procedures for asylum seekers and efficient and high-quality asylum procedures, in particular, where necessary, to support the development of the Union acquis;

(d) the provision of social assistance, information or help with administrative and/or judicial formalities and information or counselling on the possible outcomes of the asylum procedure, including on aspects such as return procedures;

(e) the provision of legal assistance and representation;

(f) the identification of vulnerable groups and specific assistance for vulnerable persons, in particular in accordance with points (a) to (e);

(g) the establishment, development and improvement of alternative measures to detention.

Where deemed appropriate, and where the national programme of a Member State provides for them, the Fund may also support integration-related measures, such as those referred to in Article 9(1), concerning the reception of persons referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph.

Within the specific objective defined in point (a) of the first subparagraph of Article 3(2), and in line with the objectives of the national programmes defined in Article 19, as regards accommodation infrastructure and reception systems, the Fund shall support, in particular, the following actions:

(a) the improvement and maintenance of existing accommodation infrastructure and services;

(b) the strengthening and improvement of administrative structures and systems;

(c) information for local communities;

(d) the training of the staff of authorities, including local authorities, who will be interacting with the persons referred to in paragraph 1 in the context of their reception;

(e) the establishment, running and development of new accommodation infrastructure and services, as well as administrative structures and systems, in particular, where necessary, to address the structural needs of Member States.

Within the specific objectives laid down in points (a) and (d) of the first subparagraph of Article 3(2), and in accordance with the objectives of the national programmes defined in Article 19, the Fund shall also support actions similar to those listed in paragraph 1 of this Article, where such actions are related to persons who are temporarily staying:

— in transit and processing centres for refugees, in particular to support resettlement operations in cooperation with the UNHCR, or

— on the territory of a Member State in the context of other humanitarian admission programmes.

Article 6

Member States’ capacity to develop, monitor and evaluate their asylum policies and procedures

Within the specific objective laid down in point (a) of the first subparagraph of Article 3(2) of this Regulation, in the light of the outcome of the policy dialogue as provided for in Article 13 of Regulation (EU) No 514/2014, and in accordance with the objectives of the national programmes defined in Article 19 of this Regulation, as regards actions relating to the enhancement of Member States’ capacity to develop, monitor and evaluate their asylum policies and procedures, the Fund shall support, in particular, the following actions:

(a) actions enhancing the capacity of Member States — including in relation to the mechanism for early warning, preparedness and crisis management established in Regulation (EU) No 604/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (¹) — to collect, analyse and disseminate qualitative and quantitative data and statistics on asylum procedures, reception capacities, resettlement and the transfer of applicants for and/or beneficiaries of international protection from one Member State to another;

(b) actions enhancing the capacity of Member States to collect, analyse and disseminate country-of-origin information;

(c) actions directly contributing to the evaluation of asylum policies, such as national impact assessments, surveys amongst target groups and other relevant stakeholders, and to the development of indicators and benchmarking.

Article 7

Resettlement, transfer of applicants for, and beneficiaries of, international protection and other ad hoc humanitarian admission

Within the specific objective laid down in points (a) and (d) of the first subparagraph of Article 3(2) of this Regulation, in the light of the outcome of the policy dialogue as provided for in Article 13 of Regulation (EU) No 514/2014, and in accordance with the objectives of the national programmes defined in Article 19 of this Regulation, the Fund shall support, in particular, the following actions related to resettlement of any third country national who is being resettled or has been resettled in a Member State, and other humanitarian admission programmes:

(a) the establishment and development of national resettlement programmes and strategies and other humanitarian admission programmes, including needs analysis, improvement of indicators and evaluation;

(b) the establishment of appropriate infrastructure and services to ensure the smooth and effective implementation of resettlement actions and actions concerning other humanitarian admission programmes, including language assistance;

(c) the setting up of structures, systems and training of staff to conduct missions to the third countries and/or other Member States, to carry out interviews and to conduct medical and security screening;

(d) the assessment of potential resettlement cases and/or cases of other humanitarian admission by the competent Member States’ authorities, such as conducting missions to the third country, carrying out interviews and conducting medical and security screening;

(e) pre-departure health assessment and medical treatment, pre-departure material provisions, pre-departure information and integration measures and travel arrangements, including the provision of medical escort services;

(f) information and assistance upon arrival or shortly thereafter, including interpretation services;

(g) actions for family reunification purposes for persons being resettled in a Member State;

(h) the strengthening of infrastructure and services relevant to migration and asylum in the countries designated for the implementation of Regional Protection Programmes;

(i) creating conditions conducive to the integration, autonomy and self-reliance of resettled refugees on a long-term basis.

CHAPTER III

INTEGRATION OF THIRD-COUNTRY NATIONALS AND LEGAL MIGRATION

Article 8

Immigration and pre-departure measures

Within the specific objective laid down in point (b) of the first subparagraph of Article 3(2) of this Regulation, in the light of the outcome of the policy dialogue as provided for in Article 13 of Regulation (EU) No 514/2014, and in accordance with the objectives of the national programmes defined in Article 19 of this Regulation, the Fund shall support actions taking place in a third country which focus on third-country nationals who comply with specific pre-departure measures and/or conditions set out in national law and in accordance with Union law where applicable, including those relating to the ability to integrate in the society of a Member State. In this context, the Fund shall support, in particular, the following actions:

(a) information packages and campaigns to raise awareness and promote intercultural dialogue, including via user-friendly communication and information technology and websites;

(b) the assessment of skills and qualifications, as well as enhancement of transparency and compatibility of skills and qualifications in a third country with those of a Member State;

(c) training enhancing employability in a Member State;

(d) comprehensive civic orientation courses and language tuition;

(e) assistance in the context of applications for family reunification within the meaning of Council Directive 2003/86/EC (²).

Article 9

Integration measures

Within the specific objective laid down in point (b) of the first subparagraph of Article 3(2) of this Regulation, in the light of the outcome of the policy dialogue as provided for in Article 13 of Regulation (EU) No 514/2014, and in accordance with the objectives of the national programmes defined in Article 19 of this Regulation, the Fund shall support actions which take place in the framework of consistent strategies, taking into account the integration needs of third-country nationals at local and/or regional level. In this context, the Fund shall support, in particular, the following actions focusing on third-country nationals who are residing legally in a Member State or, where appropriate, who are in the process of acquiring legal residence in a Member State:

(a) setting up and developing such integration strategies with the participation of local or regional actors, where appropriate, including needs analysis, the improvement of integration indicators, and evaluation, including participatory assessments, in order to identify best practices;

(b) providing advice and assistance in areas such as housing, means of subsistence, administrative and legal guidance, health, psychological and social care, child care and family reunification;

(c) actions introducing third-country nationals to the receiving society and actions enabling them to adapt to it, to inform them about their rights and obligations, to participate in civil and cultural life and to share the values enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union;

(d) measures focusing on education and training, including language training and preparatory actions to facilitate access to the labour market;

(e) actions designed to promote self-empowerment and to enable third-country nationals to provide for themselves;

(f) actions that promote meaningful contact and constructive dialogue between third-country nationals and the receiving society, and actions to promote acceptance by the receiving society, including through the involvement of the media;

(g) actions promoting both equality of access and equality of outcomes in relation to third-country nationals’ dealings with public and private services, including adaptation of those services to dealing with third-country nationals;

(h) capacity-building of beneficiaries, as defined in point (g) of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) No 514/2014, including through exchanges of experience and best practices, and networking.

Article 10

Practical cooperation and capacity-building measures

Within the specific objective laid down in point (b) of the first subparagraph of Article 3(2) of this Regulation, in the light of the outcome of the policy dialogue as provided for in Article 13 of the Regulation (EU) No 514/2014, and in accordance with the objectives of the national programmes defined in Article 19 of this Regulation, the Fund shall support actions focusing on one or more of the following:

(a) building up strategies promoting legal migration with a view to facilitating the development and implementation of flexible admission procedures;

(b) supporting cooperation between third countries and the recruitment agencies, the employment services and the immigration services of Member States, as well as supporting Member States in their implementation of Union migration law, consultation processes with relevant stakeholders and expert advice or information exchanges on approaches which target specific nationalities or categories of third-country nationals with respect to the needs of the labour markets;

(c) reinforcing the capacity of Member States to develop, implement, monitor and evaluate their immigration strategies, policies and measures across the different levels and departments of administrations, in particular enhancing their capacity to collect, analyse and disseminate detailed and systematic data and statistics on migration procedures and flows and residence permits, and develop monitoring tools, evaluation schemes, indicators and benchmarking for measuring the achievement of those strategies;