COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION (EU) 2020/1020

of 13 July 2020

amending Implementing Regulation (EU) No 801/2014

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 516/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 establishing the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (1), in particular Article 17(8) thereof,

After consulting the Asylum, Migration and Integration and Internal Security Funds Committee,

Whereas:

(1) Article 2(1) of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 801/2014 (2) provides that in order to qualify for the additional amount for resettled persons, the persons concerned need to be effectively resettled from the beginning of the period concerned and up to six months following the end of that period.

(2) However, the Union resettlement efforts carried out by Member States have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in an unprecedented manner. The crisis has required Member States to put on hold their resettlement operations and impose restrictions on the entry to their territory.

(3) Moreover, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the Member States’ key partners for resettlement, have suspended their operations temporarily in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, due to the travel bans issued by many countries of first asylum, resettlement selection missions are not possible for the Member States under the current circumstances.

(4) The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has serious implications not only on the implementation of the resettlement pledges, but also on the absorption capacity under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund.

(5) In order to honour Member States’ strong commitment to resettlement actions, it is necessary to ensure that the corresponding financial support is used flexibly and effectively.

(6) To this end, it is appropriate to extend the deadline of implementation for the resettlement period covering the years 2018, 2019 and 2020 from 30 June 2021 to 31 December 2021.

(7) Ireland is bound by Regulation (EU) No 516/2014 and is as a consequence bound by this Regulation.

(8) The United Kingdom is bound by Regulation (EU) No 516/2014 and is as a consequence bound by this Regulation. In accordance with Article 138 of the Agreement on the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community (3), applicable Union law, including the rules on financial corrections and on clearance of accounts, will continue to apply to the United Kingdom after 31 December 2020 until the closure of those Union programmes and activities.

(9) Denmark is not bound by Regulation (EU) No 516/2014 or by this Regulation.

(10) Given the urgency of the situation related to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is appropriate that this Regulation enters into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

(11) Implementing Regulation (EU) No 801/2014 should therefore be amended accordingly,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1 In Article 2 of Implementing Regulation (EU) No 801/2014, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following: ‘1. In order to qualify for the additional amount, the persons concerned shall be effectively resettled from the beginning of the period concerned and up to six months following the end of that period. However, for the resettlement period referred to in Article 1(1)(c), the persons concerned shall be effectively resettled from the beginning of that period and up to 12 months following the end of that period. The Member States shall keep the information necessary to allow proper identification of the resettled persons and of the date of their resettlement. For persons falling within any of the priority categories and groups of persons referred to in Article 17(2) of Regulation (EU) No 516/2014, Member States shall also keep the evidence that they belong to the relevant priority category or group of persons.’

Article 2 This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in the Member States in accordance with the Treaties. Done at Brussels, 13 July 2020. For the Commission The President Ursula VON DER LEYEN

(1) OJ L 150, 20.5.2014, p. 168.

(2) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 801/2014 of 24 July 2014 setting out the timetable and other implementing conditions related to the mechanism for the allocation of resources for the Union Resettlement Programme under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (OJ L 219, 25.7.2014, p. 19).

(3) OJ C 384 I, 12.11.2019, p. 1.