EU resettlement framework

In “Promoting our European Way of Life”

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To avoid displaced persons in need of protection having to resort to the criminal networks of smugglers and traffickers, the European Agenda on Migration, proposed on 13 May 2015, calls on the EU to step up its resettlement efforts. In addition, the Commission also committed to frame a more permanent and structured EU policy on resettlement, and announced a proposal on the matter for 2016.

The Commission submitted its proposal for a Union Resettlement Framework on 13 July 2016. The proposal would complement the current ad hoc multilateral and national resettlement programmes by providing common EU rules on the admission of third-country nationals, procedures of the resettlement process, types of status to be accorded by the Member States, decision-making procedures for the implementation of the framework and the financial support for the Member States’ resettlement efforts.

On 15 November 2017, the Permanent Representatives Committee (Coreper) endorsed, on behalf of the Council, a mandate for negotiations with the EP. The mandate includes:

  • a two year EU resettlement and humanitarian admission plan adopted by the Council (maximum total numbers of persons to be admitted, the contributions of member states to this number and the overall geographical priorities);
  • voluntary contribution of Member States to this plan;
  • two types of admission: resettlement and humanitarian admission;
  • acknowledging the UNCHR expertise in the field.

In the Parliament, the proposal was assigned to the Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs Committee (LIBE) under the rapporteurship of Malin Björk (GUE/NGL, Sweden). On 12 October 2017, the LIBE Committee adopted the draft report and the decision to enter into interinstitutional negotiations. The EP confirmed the mandate to enter into inter-institutional negotiations at the October II plenary session.

According to the report member states should provide resettled persons with a long-lasting solution, first and foremost by granting refugee or subsidiary protection status. Member States may issue permanent residence permits.

The report also calls on Member States to increase resettlement efforts and the number of resettlement places in order to shoulder a fair share of global responsibility. The EU should take on at least 20% of the annual projected global resettlement needs, as defined by UNHCR, which would equate to around 250 000 people in 2017.

Furthermore, resettlement should not be used for other foreign policy objectives, or depend on third countries' cooperation on other migration-related matters, as proposed by the  Commission. Instead, resettlement should be a humanitarian program and the EU resettlement framework should be based on the annual global projected resettlement needs. The UNHCR should be the main institution to select refugees for resettlement to the Member States.

A Union resettlement plan should be adopted every two years in consultation with the High-Level Resettlement Committee, and should be based on UNHCR Projected Global Resettlement Needs.

Contrary to the Commission proposal, the report retains the allocation of 6 000 EUR from the AMIF fund for every person resettled under Member States’ national resettlement programmes. It also supports 10 000 EUR per resettled person, if Member States resettle under the EU resettlement framework, as proposed by the Commission.

The interinstutional trilogues started in December 2017, with Parliament and the Council reaching broad political agreement on 13 June 2018. As the Council did not endorse the agreement and Parliament confirmed its principled support for the agreement, the Austrian presidency ultimately decided to return the file to the negotiations at the technical level. In January 2019 the Council discussed compromise proposals on Member States’ concerns to be discussed further with the Parliament, but finally did not give a mandate to the Presidency for a trilogue with the EP due to the "package approach".

In an attempt to abandon the long-held ‘package approach’ that linked the reform of the EU Dublin Regulation and a permanent relocation system to the rest of the legislative reforms of the asylum acquis, Member States representatives adopted a Declaration on a voluntary solidarity mechanism. The aim was to address issues of ‘solidarity and responsibility-sharing’ among EU Member States over who is responsible for assessing applications of asylum seekers rescued at sea. In June 2022, the Parliament and the rotating Presidencies of the Council signed a joint roadmap, declaring their plan to finish negotiating all the asylum and migration proposals currently on the table by February 2024, with the aim of having them enter into force by April 2024 at the latest.

The Parliament and the Council reached a final agreement on the regulation on 15 December 2022. On 8 February 2024, Coreper approved the provisional agreement. The framework does not impose an obligation on Member States to admit a person. It also does not establish a right for third-country nationals or stateless persons to request admission or to be admitted to the territory of the Member States. It comprises common procedures for resettlement and humanitarian admission of particularly vulnerable persons that are eligible to receive refugee status or subsidiary protection status in the EU. Member States shall receive EUR 10 000 for each person admitted through resettlement and EUR 6 000 for each person admitted through humanitarian admission. The determination of the regions or third countries from which Union resettlement or humanitarian admission shall primarily be based on UNHCR Projected Global Resettlement Needs.

The Parliament adopted the proposal on 10 April 2024 and the Council on 14 May 2024. After the presidents of both institutions signed the regulation on 14 May 2024, it was published in the Official Journal of the EU on 22 May 2024. The regulation enters into force in June 2024 and into application on 1 July 2026.

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Further reading:

Author: Anja Radjenovic, Members' Research Service, legislative-train@europarl.europa.eu

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As of 15/12/2024.