# EUR-Lex - 52012DC0554 - EN

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# 52012DC0554

**REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT Mid-term report on the implementation of the Action Plan on Unaccompanied Minors /* COM/2012/0554 final */**

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I. Introduction

In May 2010 the Commission adopted the
Action Plan on Unaccompanied Minors (2010-2014)[1], followed by
the adoption of Council conclusions on unaccompanied minors in June 2010.[2]
The Action Plan and the Council conclusions put forward a common EU-wide
approach based on the principle of the best interests of the child. They
identified main strands for action, such as prevention, reception and
identification of durable solutions to be implemented through a series of practical
measures undertaken by the European Union (EU) institutions and agencies, EU Member
States and stakeholders.

The Action Plan and the Council conclusions
invited the Commission to report on their implementation by mid-2012. This Mid-term
Report highlights the developments between May 2010 and June 2012 and identifies
the areas which require more attention and targeted action during the next two
years. The report is accompanied by a Staff Working Document[3],
which provides a more detailed description of the actions of the EU institutions
and agencies, as well as the national administrations of the EU Member States.
It also refers, where appropriate, to activities of other actors. The Report
and Staff Working Document are based on research, consultations with Member
States and on-going dialogue with civil society organisations.

II. Current
Situation

The developments of the last two years show
that the arrival of unaccompanied minors[4] is not a
temporary phenomenon, but a long-term feature of migration into the EU, and
that there is the need for a common approach by the EU to this group of
migrants.

The reasons behind the arrival of unaccompanied
children continue to be diverse and inter-related. Some are fleeing armed
conflicts, natural catastrophes, discrimination or persecution. In this
context, world events such as the conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq, or the
political unrest related to the events of the Arab Spring, may be seen as
important factors contributing to such flows. Afghanistan and Iraq were the main
countries of origin of unaccompanied minors in the EU in 2009[5],
and in most Member States they continued to be important source countries
alongside the countries in the 'horn of Africa' in 2010[6].
Some children do not leave of their own free will, but are sent away by their
families in order to avoid political persecution, to have access to the education
and welfare denied to them at home, or simply to escape poverty and find
employment in the EU[7], while others seek to
join family members already in EU territory. Finally, some unaccompanied minors
arrive as victims of human trafficking destined for exploitation.

As noted in the Action Plan, statistics about
this group of migrants are limited and, despite some improvements in data
collection, this continues to be the case. The most reliable data available are
those on unaccompanied minors who applied for asylum. In 2011, there were 12,225
asylum applications across the EU27 – a number comparable to previous years[8]
– suggesting that this type of migration is still very important. Less
information is available on other types of flows of unaccompanied minors. In
2011, the reported number of residence permits issued by Member States to
unaccompanied minors totalled 4,406.[9] Overall, the evidence
suggests that there has been no substantial reduction in the numbers of children
arriving in the EU, and this is unlikely to change in the coming years.

The extent and nature of flows continues to
differ from one Member State to another. In some Member States, unaccompanied
minors arrive predominantly as asylum seekers. Sweden, where the number of
asylum applications submitted by unaccompanied children has increased
consistently year on year from 1,510 in 2008 to 2,655 in 2011, is one example.
Similarly, in Germany over the same period, numbers of asylum applications from
this group of migrants almost tripled from 765 to 2,125[10].

In other Member States, asylum flows are
relatively less significant in comparison to children arriving as irregular
migrants. This is the case in Italy and Spain, which issued first permits to
2,278 and 819 unaccompanied children not seeking asylum in 2010[11].
An increasing proportion of these irregular flows are due to political turmoil
in North African countries and elsewhere. For example, Italy noted that, in
recent years, flows of unaccompanied minors from traditional countries of
origin, such as Albania, had decreased, while there was an increase in those flows
from countries in Africa and the Middle East which were socio-politically
unstable.

A final group of Member States are transit
countries, which receive very few asylum applications from unaccompanied
children – typically less than 60 a year[12] – but through
which some children travel to reach their destination country. Most of the
Central and Eastern European countries fall into this category.

III. Data Collection

Data collection continues to be one of the key
challenges. The fact that unaccompanied minors are not a homogeneous group, and
are looked after by different authorities, means that not all unaccompanied minors
are part of the regular collection of data by Member States. Whereas there are reliable
statistical data on unaccompanied children seeking asylum, there are fewer
statistics on those who migrated irregularly or were trafficked.

However, there have been significant improvements
in both the collection and exchange of quantitative and qualitative data during
the past two years. The revision of the Guidelines for data collection under
Article 6 of the Statistics Regulation[13] in 2011 has
enabled Eurostat to collect data on an additional category of permits, namely
residence permits issued to unaccompanied minors who do not apply for asylum or
who have not been granted a residence permit as victims in trafficking in human
beings, which gives an idea of the scale and dynamics of non-asylum related
migration.[14] In September 2010, Frontex
published a targeted risk assessment analysing numbers, nationalities, routes
and ways of facilitating the migration of those unaccompanied minors who are
asylum seekers.[15] The European Migration
Network (EMN) continued to play an important role in the exchange of data on unaccompanied
children. An ad-hoc query carried out in the first quarter of 2012 provided
updated statistics and information on practices concerning these applying for
asylum.[16]

The newly established European Asylum
Support Office (EASO)[17] is also involved in the sharing
and monitoring of data. The 2012 Work Programme provides for the setting up of an
EASO information sharing and monitoring system on unaccompanied children and
the collection of data and the development of Country of Origin Information
(COI).[18]

Way ahead

Additional efforts invested in quantitative
and qualitative data gathering and exchange — including gender desegregated
statistics — need to be undertaken by Member States, EU institutions, EU agencies,
as well as non-governmental and international organisations. It is necessary to
further improve the comparability of data collected across the EU. Member
States are encouraged to continue to collect data on unaccompanied minors who
are asylum seekers, but also on those who are irregular migrants or victims of
trafficking. In particular, the data on trafficking in minors should be further
broken down in order to obtain information on unaccompanied minors who are victims
of trafficking.

The data gathering should not be limited to
the initial collection, i.e. at the moment when unaccompanied children enter a
Member State. It is also necessary to improve understanding of what happens to them
once they are within EU territory. Wherever possible, Member States should
collect quantitative and qualitative data concerning the number of unaccompanied
minors absconding from care facilities, the types of services and support
provided at the various stages of applicable procedures (such as accelerated
procedures, border procedures, age assessments, tracing of families, appointing
of guardians, etc.). Finally, statistical data should also be gathered on the numbers
of returned unaccompanied minors.[19]

In 2013-14, the Commission will carry out a
study to collect EU-wide data on the involvement of children in criminal, civil
and administrative judicial proceedings as part of a pilot project supported by
the European Parliament. In this context, it will gather statistics based on
relevant indicators and provide a narrative overview on the involvement of unaccompanied
minors in administrative judicial proceedings in the EU.

EASO will facilitate further information
exchange and sharing of knowledge through expert meetings dedicated to
unaccompanied children. By the end of 2012, EASO will produce the Afghanistan
COI Report, which will include relevant specific issues relating to vulnerable groups,
including unaccompanied minors.

IV. Prevention
of unsafe migration and trafficking

The Action Plan acknowledges that
prevention of unsafe migration and trafficking of children is the first step in
dealing effectively with the issue of migration of unaccompanied minors. To
this end, the EU and its Member States continued to integrate migration, and
particularly migration of children, into development cooperation. They have also
undertaken awareness-raising and training to improve early identification of
trafficking victims, and to inform children and their families about the risks
of irregular migration. A final area of activity was the development of
integrated child protection systems.

Under the Thematic Programme on Asylum and
Migration, the Thematic Programme Investing in People, the European Instrument
for Democracy and the Human Rights and Development Cooperation Instrument[20],
the EU funded projects preventing unsafe migration and trafficking, raising
awareness for children at risk, and training specialised personnel to detect risk
situations. The EU also continued to support third countries in improving their
legislative and administrative capacity to identify children who are asylum
seekers and victims of trafficking in human beings[21].

National and EU financing of centres in
countries of origin such as Senegal, Morocco, Moldova, Egypt, Kenya, Guatemala
and Bolivia, which provides shelter and education to minors, has had
encouraging results[22]. Information campaigns
are also being launched, and capacity building activities for national
authorities and border guards are being carried out[23].

An important part of preventing unsafe
migration and trafficking has been the continuous engagement with third countries.
Unaccompanied minors were discussed in the context of the Human Rights
Dialogues[24]. The EU continued to
implement the EU Guidelines on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of
the Child[25]. It is expected that the
2012 review of the Guidelines will place further emphasis on the most
vulnerable, such as unaccompanied children.

The issue of unaccompanied minors is
addressed in the framework of the Migration and Mobility dialogues, such as the
EU-Africa Partnership on Migration, Mobility and Employment and of the Rabat
Process on Migration and Development. It was discussed in March 2011 at the
meeting of the Working Group on Social and Migration Affairs with Morocco, as
well as in the Dialogue on Migration, Mobility and Security launched in October
2011 with Tunisia and Morocco. Specific actions concerning unaccompanied minors
are also listed in the 2012-2016 Action Plan of the Prague process[26].

Practices and experiences in dealing with this
group of migrants were shared by receiving countries in the context of the G8
and the EU-US Platform for Cooperation on Migration and Refugee issues. In
2011, Spain hosted a seminar on unaccompanied minors as part of the EU-US
Platform, which enabled an exchange of views and practices among the EU Member
States and the United States.[27]

In order to improve information for
prospective migrants, the Commission included a specific reference to unaccompanied
children in the EU Immigration Portal launched in November 2011[28].

The way ahead

The EU and Member States need to continue
to address the issue of migration of unaccompanied minors in the context of
development cooperation. Greater sharing of information on initiatives being
undertaken and actions planned is vital in order to maximise the use of
available resources. The discussions on the EU's budget framework for 2014-2020
should result in better coordination of external funds.[29]

There is also a need for continuous
engagement with countries of origin and transit. Stable cooperation with third
countries will help the EU and Member States to better understand their needs,
which in turn will support the design and implementation of future projects. It
is important that such cooperation should not be limited to prevention
measures, but should also address other relevant issues such as restoring
family links, ensuring the safe return of children, and re-trafficking risks. These
issues should also be addressed in the context of mobility partnerships and in
dialogues with the main countries of origin

Further exchanges with non-EU countries of
destination for unaccompanied minors should be encouraged, not only in order to
share experiences and good practice, but also to find concrete solutions in
relation to prevention, family tracing and safe return..

V. Reception
and procedural guarantees in the EU

The Action Plan acknowledged the importance
of reception measures to ensure that appropriate care and assistance is
provided to unaccompanied minors who find themselves on EU territory. The EU has
therefore continued to strengthen reception measures and access to relevant
procedural guarantees for those children.

Amendments were proposed to the Schengen
Borders Code and the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement in order to
improve the handling of unaccompanied minors at the borders. They will introduce
the training module on unaccompanied minors for border guards and will formally
establish a list of national contact points for consultation purposes on minors,
the use of which will be obligatory. The Frontex-led Joint Operation Hammer resulted
in operational guidelines on how to deal with children, including unaccompanied
children, at the external borders. A seminar entitled 'Unaccompanied Minors:
children crossing the external borders of the EU in search of protection',
which was organised during the Belgian Presidency, delivered a set of
recommendations for national authorities and transnational actors[30].

As regards unaccompanied minors who are
asylum seekers, the EU is in the process of completing negotiations on the
revision of the asylum acquis that is expected to strengthen the
protection of this group of migrants. In December 2011, the Qualification
Directive[31] was adopted. The
Directive reinforces the provision on the tracing of family members and, for
the first time, provides an indicative list of considerations to be taken into
account when determining the best interests of the child.

In April 2011, the European Parliament and
the Council adopted the Directive on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in
Human Beings and protecting its victims (Directive on Trafficking in Human
Beings).[32] The Directive includes
new provisions providing assistance, support and protection to unaccompanied
children who are victims of trafficking. In particular, Member States are
required to take the necessary measures to ensure that the specific actions to
assist and support child victims of trafficking in human beings are undertaken
following an individual assessment of the special circumstances of each
particular child victim, taking due account of the child’s views, needs and
concerns in order to find a durable solution for the child. Furthermore, Member
States should also appoint a guardian or a representative from the moment the
child is identified by the authorities.

The Commission set up an expert group on unaccompanied
minors in the migration process to exchange views and practices on the various
issues in this area[33]. The first thematic
meeting, held on 21 June 2011, was devoted to guardianship. The meeting confirmed
that guardianship is one of the crucial elements of child protection and that, even
if there is no single model of guardianship, there are common challenges across
the EU such as the need to train guardians. In order to support guardianship
networks, the Commission funded the project 'European Network of Guardianship
Institutions: Guardianship in practice', which is being implemented by the
NIDOS Foundation[34]. It also financed a
project led by Defence for Children-the Netherlands, which resulted in the
formulation of core standards for guardians of unaccompanied children[35]
as well as a project aimed at improving the quality guardianship and care of unaccompanied
minors who are asylum seekers in Central Europe[36].

In 2012, EASO has prioritised setting up of
the working group on age assessment, delivering technical documentation and a
handbook on age assessment[37]. In spring 2012, EASO
sent a questionnaire to Member States and civil society organisations to assess
current policies and practices in the EU. The results will support future work
of the EASO working group and contribute to the development of guidelines.

The expert group on unaccompanied minors made
a close examination of family tracing.[38] Its conclusion
was that families, legal guardians or appropriate minor caring entities cannot
be found, family links cannot be restored and minors cannot be returned to a safe
environment without the involvement of countries of origin. Spain and France
presented the ways in which they cooperate with countries of origin, and Italy explained
how tracing is carried out by IOM. Despite the divergent approaches adopted by Member
States to the issue of family tracing, some rules and practices developed at
national level could usefully be shared among Member States. It was therefore
proposed that a questionnaire would be drawn up to catalogue the information and
share best practice on family tracing.

The 2010 Comparative report of the Fundamental
Rights Agency's (FRA) on Separated, Asylum-seeking children in EU Member States
looked at the prospects and experiences of unaccompanied children in 12 EU
Member States. It identified good practices and shortcomings of the existing
systems in relation to aspects such as accommodation, access to healthcare,
education and training, legal representation, the role of social workers, age
assessment, family tracing and reunification[39].

In February 2011 the Commission adopted the
EU Agenda for the rights of the child, which addresses the protection of
children in vulnerable situations, including unaccompanied children. Actions under
consideration include promoting the use of the 2010 Council of Europe
Guidelines on child-friendly justice, which contains provisions on unaccompanied
children. The Agenda also supports and encourages the development of training
activities for judges and other professionals at European level regarding the
optimal participation of children in judicial proceedings.

In the course of 2011, EASO updated the European
Asylum Curriculum module on ‘Interviewing Children’. This module addresses the training
needs of asylum officials on issues of gender, trauma and age. It also ensures
that interviews with minors are conducted in a child-friendly manner. [40]

Financing continues to be an important part
of the practical development of the common EU approach to unaccompanied minors.
In 2011, the European Parliament approved a Pilot Project, which is due to provide
EUR 1 000 000 of financing for projects on prevention, reception, protection
and integration policies for unaccompanied children[41].
By acknowledging the limits of the 'sectoral' approach, the 2011 proposal for a
Regulation on the Asylum and Migration Fund[42] brings
together financial support for integration, migration, asylum and return
management and addresses the needs of different target groups of third-country
nationals, including unaccompanied minors, in a more comprehensive and
coordinated way.

The way ahead

The EU is committed to revising the asylum acquis
by the end of 2012. The Commission has proposed higher standards of protection for
unaccompanied children. Attention should be paid to the transposition of the relevant
provisions concerning this group of migrants. As far as possible, seminars
organised to discuss the transposition of the Directive on Trafficking in Human
Beings and the Qualification Directive, as well as other future Directives in
the field of asylum, should include discussions on the issue of unaccompanied
children.

The Commission will continue to ensure that
EU legislation affecting unaccompanied minors is correctly implemented and that
potential protection gaps are addressed.

In cooperation with Frontex, EASO will
consider additional possibilities for training on handling cases involving
children at the EU external borders, which would include age and evidence assessment
procedures. It will also facilitate further information exchange and knowledge sharing
through a variety of expert meetings on unaccompanied children.

The Commission, supported by EASO and
Member States, will continue working on family tracing both in the EU and third
countries, with a view to identifying and promoting best practice. The EU and
the Member States also should further encourage cooperation with the countries
of origin of unaccompanied minors.

The Commission will continue to make
financial resources available for projects concerning unaccompanied children.
However, efforts to use the funds need to be strengthened. Member States and
civil society organisations are invited to submit targeted proposals to further
the implementation of the common EU approach on unaccompanied minors. An
important contribution could be made by new projects focused on best practice in
preventing the disappearance of children from care, improving standards of
accommodation and dealing with situations when they reach 18 years of age. Lastly,
it is necessary to ensure the availability of financial resources beyond 2013. The
future Asylum and Migration Fund should facilitate the funding of projects on unaccompanied
minors.

VI. Finding
durable solutions

Most EU Member States have transposed the
Return Directive[43] into national
legislation. This has led to significant improvements in the protection of unaccompanied
minors in several Member States. In the course of the transposition of the
Directive, those children were the subject of a specific focus during the
meetings of the Contact Committee on the Return Directive.

Under the Return Fund, the Commission
funded the European Return Platform for Unaccompanied Minors and the European
Reintegration Instrument project, run by the Dutch Repatriation and Departure
Service, which includes unaccompanied children among its target groups. The
Study on Practices in the Field of Return of Minors, which is funded by the Commission,
provides Member States with a checklist to achieve good practice when
considering the return of children to third countries.[44]
The 2011 Work Programme of the Return Fund called for projects for tracing
families, monitoring of returned minors and reception centres for returned unaccompanied
minors.

The European Refugee Fund and the European
Fund for the Integration of third-country nationals give priority to this group
of migrants, as long as the relevant activities qualify for higher
co-financing.[45]

The amendment in March 2012 to the European
Refugee Fund[46] creating the 'Joint EU
Resettlement Programme' enhances the EU’s role in providing international
protection to unaccompanied minors. By providing financial incentives, the new
programme encourages Member States to participate in the resettlement in the EU
of unaccompanied children who have been granted refugee status in a non-EU country.

The way ahead

The report on the application of the Return
Directive to be prepared by the Commission by December 2013 will, amongst
others, closely examine the implementation of the provisions concerning unaccompanied
minors.

The Return Fund will continue to make funds
available for activities concerning this group of migrants. Member States and
civil society organisations are invited to use the full potential of the
financial resources available under the Fund.

The Commission will continue to advocate
inclusion of unaccompanied children into the resettlement priorities of the
Union Resettlement Programme as planned for 2014-2020 by the Asylum and
Migration Fund.

VII.
Conclusions

The EU Action Plan on Unaccompanied Minors
and the Council conclusions have been important steps in shaping a common,
rights-based EU approach to this group of migrant children.

The common EU approach has enabled more
effective cross-cutting policy reflections on how to address the situation of children,
regardless of their migratory status, and has facilitated discussions among EU
institutions, national authorities, inter-governmental and non-governmental
organisations in different policy arenas, allowing enhanced exchange of
knowledge and practices concerning unaccompanied minors. The common EU approach
ensured that greater prominence was given to funding measures to address the
situation of those children. The explicit recognition of the best interests of
the child as the guiding principle has contributed to provisions that ensure
increasing protection in the new EU legislative instruments for this
particularly vulnerable group of migrants.

The arrival of unaccompanied children on EU
territory is not a temporary development, but a long-term feature of migration
into the EU. There is and will continue to be a need for a common EU approach to
unaccompanied minors in order to continue to respond effectively and in full
respect of the rights of the child to this complex and transnational challenge
at both national and European level.

During the past two years, the Commission has
paid particular attention to ensuring better coordination and consistency among
the various legislative, financial and policy instruments relating to unaccompanied
children. The actions implemented have contributed to the improvement of data
collection, the prevention of unsafe migration and trafficking, the protection
of children once they are in the EU and the identification of durable solutions.

However, developing a common EU approach to
unaccompanied minors is an on-going and incremental process. It calls for further
efforts in terms of sharing knowledge about the phenomenon, and designing and
implementing legislative and non-legislative actions to ensure adequate
protection of children and, in particular, improving methods of finding durable
solutions. In this context, the conference on Unaccompanied Minors, organised
by the Danish EU Presidency and Save the Children in June 2012, gave very
useful input to the second term of the Action Plan's implementation.

The Commission will continue to prioritise
funding for projects involving unaccompanied children. Member States,
international and non-governmental organisations are encouraged to use the
available financial resources to their fullest potential. Also, once adopted, the
future financial instrument – the Asylum and Migration Fund – should ensure coherent
funding of activities for this group of migrants. The EU will continue to fund
initiatives in third countries and regions through its instruments for external
assistance on issues relating to unaccompanied minors.

Other EU institutional actors are also invited
to consider what capacity they might dedicate to participating in the
development of more effective implementation. As important stakeholders and
actors in the arena, international governmental and non-governmental
organisations are encouraged to continue to contribute to the implementation of
the common EU approach.

The EU and its Member States need to
strengthen the efforts they are making to collaborate with non-EU countries of
origin, transit and destination in advancing a common EU approach to
unaccompanied children. The situation of these children should continue to be
addressed in the context of the external migration policy as provided for in
the Global Approach to Migration and Mobility. Progress on issues such as
re-establishing family unity or ensuring safe return cannot be achieved without
the involvement of the countries of origin. Lastly, working with third
countries on preventing unsafe migration requires coordination with development
and cooperation aid.

[1]               COM(2010) 213 final.

[2]               Council Conclusions on unaccompanied minors, 3018th
Justice and Home Affairs Council meeting, Luxembourg, 3 June 2010.

[3]               Commission Staff Working Document, SWD(2012)281

[4]               The definition of ‘unaccompanied minors’ derives from
Article 2(f) of Council Directive 2001/55/EC.

[5]               In 2009, Afghanistan, Somalia and Iraq were the top three
source countries for unaccompanied minors in the EU. Frontex (2010) 'Unaccompanied
Minors in the Migration Process'.

[6]               'Ad-Hoc query on Unaccompanied Minors – updated
facts and statistics', EMN, http://www.emn.europa.eu
available under 'EMN Ad-Hoc Queries/Protection' (no. 367).

[7]               Particularly in France. Frontex (2010) 'Unaccompanied
Minors in the Migration Process'.

[8]               10,845 in 2010, 12 245 in 2009 and 11 715 in 2008
respectively. Eurostat.

[9]               Eurostat

[10]             Eurostat.

[11]             The corresponding numbers for unaccompanied minors who
applied for asylum in 2010 were 15 in Spain and 305 in Italy. Eurostat.

[12]             For example, in 2011 there were 10 asylum applications
submitted by unaccompanied children in the Czech Republic and Lithuania, 20 in
Slovakia, 25 in Bulgaria, 55 in Romania, 60 in Hungary and Slovenia. No such
applicants were recorded in Estonia and Latvia. Eurostat.

[13]             Regulation (EC) No 862/2007.

[14]             Eurostat, First permits issued for other reasons by
reason, length of validity and citizenship http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=migr_resoth

[15]             Frontex (2010) 'Unaccompanied Minors in the
Migration Process'.

[16]             'Ad-Hoc Query_Unaccompanied Minors - updated facts
and statistics' Ref. No. 367. EMN website, http://emn.intrasoft-intl.com/html/index.html

[17]             Regulation (EU) No 439/2010 of 19 May 2010 establishing
a European Asylum Support Office.

[18]             2012 EASO Work Programme, http://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/policies/asylum/docs/easo/EASO_2011_00110000_EN_TRA.pdf

[19]             European Commission Directorate-General Home 'Comparative
Study on Practices in the Field of Return of Minors' HOME/2009/RFXX/PR/1002;
FINAL REPORT, December 2011, available at http://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/doc_centre/immigration/immigration_studies_en.htm
p 27.

[20]             For a full list of projects see the Commission Staff
Working Document, above n 3.

[21]             Ibid.

[22]             Information provided by AT, BE, ES, IT, NL and SE.

[23]             Information provided by BG, EL, ES, FI, IE, HU, IT, LT,
PO, SI, SK and UK.

[24]             Human Rights Dialogues with African Union, Bangladesh,
Belarus, Cambodia, Canada, the Candidate countries (Croatia, Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, Turkey), China, Egypt, Georgia, India, Israel, Japan,
Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos and Lebanon.

[25]             EU Guidelines on Promotion and Protection of the Rights
of the Child, Council of the EU, EU Guidelines on Human Rights and
International Humanitarian Law, 2009.

[26]             Action Plan of the Prague process for the period
2012-2016, Annex Point I.3 and II. 4.

[27]             Seminar 'Understanding the situation of
unaccompanied minors in the US and the EU and sharing best practices in both
regions', 31 May 2011, Madrid.

[28]             See http://ec.europa.eu/immigration,
section 'Avoiding the risks', heading 'Children travelling alone':
http://ec.europa.eu/immigration/tab3.do?subSec=17&language=7$en#anchor3.

[29]             'A Budget for Europe 2020', Communication from the Commission
to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social
Committee and the Committee of the Regions, COM(2011) 500 final.

[30]             Belgian Presidency seminar on 'Unaccompanied Minors:
children crossing the external borders of the EU in search of protection',
held on 9 – 10 December 2010 in Brussels. The conference was co-financed by the
Commission (External Borders Fund) and was focussed on protection of children
from the first encounter and resulted in a set of Recommendations.

[31]             Directive 2011/95/EU of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 13 December 2011 on standards for the qualification of
third-country nationals or stateless persons as beneficiaries of international
protection, for a uniform status for refugees or for persons eligible for
subsidiary protection, and for the content of the protection granted (recast).
Official Journal of the European Union, L 337/9, 20 December 2011, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2011:337:0009:0026:EN:PDF

[32]             Official Journal of the European Union, L 101/1, 15
April 2011, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2011:101:0001:0011:EN:PDF

[33]             Expert group on unaccompanied minors in the migration
process (E02402) http://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regexpert/detailGroup.cfm?groupID=2402
The meetings are attended by experts from EU Member States, non-governmental
organisations, international organisations, EU institutions and agencies

[34]             2011 European Refugee Fund Community Actions.

[35]             Project ‘Closing a protection gap: Core Standards
for guardians of separated children in Europe’ run by Defence for
Children-the Netherlands was funded under DAPHNE III Programme and was finalised
in 2011. Available at http://www.defenceforchildren.nl/images/69/1632.pdf

[36]             'Improving the Quality of Unaccompanied Minor Asylum
Seekers' Guardianship and Care in Central European Countries', implemented
by the International Organisation for Migration, http://www.iom.hu/PDF/guardianship_brochure.pdf

[37]             European Asylum Support Office Work Programme 2012, available
at http://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/policies/asylum/docs/easo/EASO_2011_00110000_EN_TRA.pdf

[38]             Meeting of 26 March 2012. http://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regexpert/detailGroup.cfm?groupID=2402

[39]             http://fra.europa.eu/fraWebsite/attachments/SEPAC-comparative-report_EN.pdf

[40]             http://www.asylum-curriculum.eu/eacweb/Specialised-learning/61-interviewing-children.html

[41]             Budget line 18 03 18: 'Pilot Project – Analysis of
reception, protection and integration policies for unaccompanied minors'.

[42]             Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament
and the Council establishing the Asylum and Migration Fund, COM(2011) 751
final.

[43]             Directive 2008/115/EC, Official Journal of the European
Union, L 348/98, 24 December 2012, http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2008:348:0098:0098:EN:PDF

[44]             European Commission Directorate-General Home Comparative
Study on Practices in the Field of Return of Minors HOME/2009/RFXX/PR/1002;
Final Report, December 2011, available at http://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/doc_centre/immigration/immigration_studies_en.htm
p 160.

[45]             75% instead of 50%.

[46]             Decision No 281/2012/EU of the European Parliament and
of the Council of 29 March 2012 amending Decision No 573/2007/EC establishing
the European Refugee Fund for the period 2008 to 2013 as part of the General
programme ‘Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows’.