COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS on the Delivery of the European Agenda on Migration
Date: 2017-09-27
Institutions: Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission
Subjects: admission of aliens, aid to refugees, cross-border cooperation, external border of the EU, migrant, migration policy, refugee, return migration, third country, trafficking in human beings

EN 

   EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 27.9.2017  COM(2017) 558 final   COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS on the Delivery of the European Agenda on Migration  
 
 
1. 

Introduction 

The State of the Union Address 2017: "migration stays on our radar" 

In  the  last  two  years,  Europe  experienced  the  largest  number  of  arrivals  of  refugees  and 
migrants since the end of the Second World War. The Syrian crisis played an important part 
in generating this record number, as did conflicts, instability and poverty in many parts of the 
world. Migration, asylum and border management systems were put under huge pressure. The 
Union and its Member States were not sufficiently prepared to respond effectively. The scale 
of  the  crisis  had  a  powerful  impact  across  the  EU.  The  integrity  of  both  the  Common 
European Asylum System and of the Schengen area of free movement for European citizens 
was put into question. 

As  the  crisis  unfolded,  the  EU  has  been  working  relentlessly  on  a  swift,  coordinated  and 
effective  European  response.  The  Commission  presented  its  'Ten  point  action  plan  on 
migration' on 20 April 2015. The plan received the backing of Foreign and Interior Ministers 
and was immediately endorsed by the European Council.1 In May 2015, the Commission set 
out a comprehensive European Agenda on Migration2 to address both immediate challenges 
and the structural weaknesses of the existing EU migration and asylum policy. 

Since then, our sustained efforts to restore order to the migration system have led to tangible 
results.  The  continuous  implementation  of  the  EU–Turkey  Statement,  the  Partnership 
Framework and the joint actions taken on the Central Mediterranean route3 have significantly 
reduced the number of irregular arrivals. The management of EU external borders has taken a 
major step forward, hotspots have been set up allowing for the registration and fingerprinting 
of all migrants upon arrival, and unilateral actions by Member States have been replaced with 
a  coordinated  European  response.  The  restoration  of  an  orderly  management  of  migration 
flows  has  been  pursued  in  a  spirit  of  solidarity,  including  through  relocation  schemes. 
Migration has a new priority in the EU's relations with key partners. At the same time, the EU 
has assumed its global responsibility to provide asylum for an important share of the world's 
refugees: in 2016 alone, the EU resettled or granted asylum to over 720,000 refugees, three 
times as many as Australia, Canada and the United States combined. 

In  parallel  to  the  immediate  response,  structural  changes  were  proposed  to  put  in  place  a 
better management of migration and asylum. Of particular significance were the proposals to 
set up the European Border and Coast Guard and to reform the Common European Asylum 
System.  The  European  Border  and  Coast  Guard  is  now  up  and  running,  but  the  European 
Parliament  and  the  Council  have  not  yet  agreed  on  the  proposals  to  reform  the  Common 
European Asylum System. 

The work to further develop and implement our comprehensive approach must continue. We 
need  to  find  the  compromises  necessary  to  shape  an  EU  migration  policy  that  is  robust, 
realistic and fair. It must acknowledge the needs of host societies and EU citizens, as well as 
working  closely  with  partners  worldwide.  We  need  to  ensure  that  we  continue  to  fulfil  our 
obligations to those in need of international protection. We need to find solutions that replace 

1  Special meeting of the European Council of 23 April 2015. 
2 A European Agenda on Migration, COM(2015) 240 final (13 May 2015). 
3 Malta Declaration by the members of the European Council on the external aspects of migration: addressing the 

Central Mediterranean route: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-17-3091_en.htm. 

2 

 
 
                                                            
irregular and uncontrolled flows with  safe and well-managed pathways.  We need  to  look  at 
deep seated challenges that sit at the root of irregular migration, such as underdevelopment, 
demography, lack of opportunities, climate change, and inequality. In parallel, to secure the 
Schengen  area,  we  need  to  continue  to  reinforce  the  management  of  external  borders  and 
improve  our  delivery  on  returns  and  readmission.  Only  comprehensive  migration 
management, grounded on the principles of solidarity and fair sharing of responsibility, will 
deliver sustainable results. 

The sustained reduction in irregular arrivals in the Eastern Mediterranean and the recent fall 
in  arrivals  in  the  Central  Mediterranean,  offer  an  opportunity  to  work  towards  more  stable 
solutions. We need to maintain current efforts and remain ready to address any new pressures. 
But now is also the moment to focus efforts on putting in place the remaining building blocks 
of a better migration management. 

This  Communication  serves  as  a  mid-term  review  of  what  has  been  achieved  so  far  in 
delivering  the  European  Agenda  on  Migration.  It  also  sets  out  new  initiatives  from  the 
Commission  to  address  key  areas  and  identifies  where  further  efforts  are  needed  in  the 
coming months. 

2. 

The  European  Agenda  on  Migration  two  years  on:  Achievements  and  lessons 
learnt 

The  European  Agenda  on  Migration  proposed  immediate  measures  to  cope  with  the  2015 
crisis  including  actions  to  ensure  that  the  existing  EU  rules  are  applied  correctly  and  fully. 
The Agenda also set out a comprehensive approach addressing all aspects of migration based 
on the four areas of (1) irregular migration, (2) border management, (3) asylum policy and (4) 
legal  migration  as  key  for  delivering  an  effective  and  sustainable  EU  migration  policy,  and 
laid out a number of key actions for each of these areas. 

The  following  section  takes  stock  of  the  main  actions  implemented  over  the  last  two  years. 
The assessment takes into account the contributions received from many stakeholders and EU 
institutions, in response to the consultation launched by the Commission on the review of the 
progress achieved so far in implementing of the European Agenda on Migration. 

2.1.  Responding to  the  crisis and assisting Member States  under exceptional migratory 

pressure 

The response provided to the crisis situation had a positive impact4, with the measures taken 
ranging  from  improved  management  of  external  borders  to  concrete  examples  of  solidarity 
both inside the Union and in the neighbourhood. 

The  joint  operations  Triton  and  Poseidon  have  been  significantly  reinforced  to  immediately 
reply to the challenges in both the Central and Eastern Mediterranean. 

Concerted action by all actors – Member States, third countries, EU agencies and institutions 
– following the Leaders'  meeting  convened  by the Commission  in  October 2015, disorderly 

4 The Communication on the State of Play of Implementation of the Priority Actions under the European Agenda 
on  Migration,  COM  (2016)  85  final  of  10  February  2016  identified  all  immediate  measures  taken  to  regain 
control. 

3 

 
 
 
                                                            
movements  were  replaced  by  coordinated  measures  along  the  Western  Balkans  route. 
Support was provided to Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia and Greece as well as to Serbia under the 
EU  Civil  Protection  Mechanism.  In  addition,  almost  EUR  23  million  is  allocated  in  EU 
humanitarian  aid  to  help  refugees  and  migrants  in  the  Western  Balkans.  Since  the  steep 
increase  of  arrivals  in  summer  2015,  EUR  78  million  of  the  pre-accession  assistance  (IPA)  
for  the  Western  Balkans  has  been  allocated    to  support  these  countries      in  managing 
migration  flows  at  the  border  and  on  improving  their  reception  capacity  for  migrants  and 
refugees. 

The creation of hotspots in Greece and Italy proved to be successful in better managing the 
flows. Together with the setting up of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, this 
helped  to  improve  the  management  of  EU  external  borders  and  contributed  to  more 
effective asylum and return procedures. 

Under  the  assistance  instrument  for  emergency  support  within  the  EU,  more  than  EUR 
430 million have been contracted to support the refugee response in Greece. The instrument 
was  established  in  2016  to  respond  to  exceptional  crises  or  disasters  within  EU  Member 
States which give rise to severe humanitarian consequences and was activated for a three-year 
period to respond specifically to the humanitarian needs of refugees within the EU. 

Building on the EU–Turkey Joint Action Plan on Migration agreed on 29 November 2015, the 
EU-Turkey  Statement  of  18  March  2016  played  a  key  role  in  breaking  the  cycle  of 
uncontrolled  flows  of  migrants  creating  an  unsustainable  humanitarian  crisis.  From  the  first 
weeks of its operation, the Statement led to a sharp decrease of irregular arrivals and the loss 
of  life,  whilst  at  the  same  time  opening  up  the  legal  channel  of  resettlement,  offering  a 
genuine  chance  to  those  in  need  of  protection.  This  joint  effort  of  the  EU  and  Turkey  has 
created  an  alternative  to  the  dangerous  migratory  flows5  with  organised,  safe  and  legal 
pathways to Europe6  for  those entitled to  international  protection, while also facilitating  the 
returns, in line with EU and international law, even if further efforts are still needed. 

As part of this effort, the EU Facility for Refugees in Turkey, with a total of EUR 3 billion 
for 2016 and 2017, has proved the right tool to deliver practical support, from humanitarian 
assistance  to  education,  migration  management,  health,  municipal  infrastructure  and  socio-
economic support to refugees and host communities in Turkey. Currently, out of the EUR 3 
billion for 2016-2017, almost more than a half of this amount has been contracted (EUR 1,66 
billion). Efforts continue to ensure the remainder is contracted by the end of 2017. The full 
and  sustained  implementation  of  the  EU-Turkey  Statement  requires  continuous  efforts  and 
political  determination  from  all  sides.  The  EU-Turkey  statement  states  that  "once  the 
allocated EUR 3 billion are about to be used to the full, and provided all commitments have 
been  met,  the  EU  will  mobilise  additional  funding  for  the  Facility  of  an  additional  EUR  3 
billion up to the end of 2018". The situation on the Greek islands also requires an urgent need 
for  additional  significant  efforts  from  the  Greek  authorities,  EU  Agencies  and  the  Member 
States,  including  increasing  the  pace  of  returns  to  Turkey,  in  full  compliance  with  EU  and 
international  rules.  The  current  pace  and  commitment  of  Member  States  to  resettle  Syrian 
refugees from Turkey to Europe should be maintained and continued. Now is also the time to 

5 The number of irregular crossings stands at 78 per day on average between 21 March 2016 and 17 September 

2017. 

6 As of 20 September, over 9,700 Syrians already resettled from Turkey to the EU. 

4 

 
 
                                                            
activate  the  Voluntary  Humanitarian  Admission  Scheme  (see  further  details  under  Section 
3.2.). 

At  the  centre  of  the  robust  EU  aid  response  to  the  Syrian  refugee  crisis,  the  EU's 
humanitarian  aid  programmes  and  the  EU  Regional  Trust  Fund  in  response  to  the 
Syrian  Crisis  since  the  beginning  of  the  crisis  have  been  supporting people  in  need  inside 
Syria and over 2,5 million Syrian refugees and their host communities in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, 
Lebanon, Turkey and the Western Balkans. 

Moreover,  the  EU  increased  by  70%7  the  available  funding  under  the  "Asylum,  Migration 
and  Integration  Fund  (AMIF)",  the  "Internal  Security  Fund  (ISF)"  and  for  the  relevant  EU 
agencies  to  support  Member  States  in  their  efforts  with  regard  to  migration  and  border 
management.  This  has  helped  provide  assistance  to  814,000  asylum  seekers  in  the  EU, 
supporting  the  integration  of  1,915,000  third-country  nationals  and  facilitating  the  return  of 
83,500 persons.8 To date, a total of EUR 2,2 billion has been already paid from AMIF and ISF 
to  support  interventions  in  Member  States  in  various  fields  related  to  migration,  border 
protection and security, both in emergency situations and in the long-term perspective. Other 
EU programmes  contributed too. For example, the Health Programme  supported,  with EUR 
19,2  million  during  2015-2017,  Member  States  amongst  other  things  for  the  training  of 
medical professionals. 

The pressure on the asylum systems of Greece and Italy was alleviated through the first large-
scale EU coordinated effort to relocate asylum applicants to other Member States. The start-
up  phase  was  slow,  but  the  number  of  people  relocated  through  the  schemes  has  been 
constantly  rising,  showing  that  solidarity  can  work  in  practice.  As  of  20  September  2017, 
more  than  28,500  people  have  been  relocated  which  is  around  90%  of  those  for  whom 
relocation requests had been sent. Equally, the first EU-wide resettlement scheme, launched 
in  July  20159  has  yielded  good  results.  More  than  23,000  people  have  been  resettled  under 
this scheme and the scheme established under the EU-Turkey Statement since their launch. 

At  the  same  time,  determined  steps  have  been  taken  in  cooperation  with  international 
organisations and Member States to reinforce capacities of the Libyan Coast Guard to address 
the  continuous  irregular  arrivals  to  Italy  through  the  Central  Mediterranean  route  with  a 
first sign of decrease in recent months. An effort that has gone hand in hand with a stronger 
partnership  with  international  organisations  to  improve  the  humanitarian  situation  in  Libya 
and offer alternative avenues to stranded migrants. 

The immediate response added up to a common and sustained effort at Union level, where 
individual but coordinated actions of all actors – Member States, EU institutions and agencies, 
international organisations and civil society – played a key role. 

2.2.   Reducing the incentives for irregular migration 

The  Union  and  Member  States  have  continued  to  work  towards  an  efficient  prevention  of 
irregular  flows,  outside  and  inside  the  Union,  as  well  as  towards  putting  in  place  a  reliable 
system of returns which effectively implements the decisions taken. 

7 For the period 2014-2020. 
8 Values communicated by Member States in their implementation reports covering the period 2014-2016. 
9 Conclusions of the Representatives of the Governments of the Member States meeting within the Council of 

20 July 2015, available at: http://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-11130-2015-INIT/en/pdf. 

5 

 
 
                                                            
Root causes – support to third countries 

When  it  comes  to  fighting  root  causes,  the  EU  and  its  Member  States  remain  the  largest 
provider of development assistance providing €75,5 billion in 2016, or almost 60% of global 
assistance by OECD members. This funding is helping to boost partner countries’ economy to 
give  youth  a  chance  to  build  a  future,  to  ensure  food  and  nutrition  security  and  access  to 
energy, and to anchor good governance and respect of human rights, including in Africa. 

In  parallel  to  the  actions  launched  in  2015,  such  as  the  Valletta  process,  the  Commission 
proposed in June 2016 a new approach to engaging with countries of origin and transit. This 
Partnership Framework approach10 for cooperation on migration, has the dual objective of 
addressing  the  root  causes  of  irregular  migration  through  development  cooperation  whilst 
encouraging stronger cooperation by third countries on all aspects of migration, including the 
fight against smuggling and the acceptance of readmissions of nationals. It was launched in 
June 2016 with five priority countries and has, since then been extended to a larger group of 
countries  with  some  important  results  achieved,  notably  in  terms  of  addressing  root  causes, 
dismantling smuggling networks and trafficking of human beings 11. 

To support these initiatives EUR 3,1 billion has been made available by the EU Trust Fund 
for  Africa  to  26  countries  in  the  Sahel  region  and  Lake  Chad,  the  Horn  of  Africa  and  the 
North  of  Africa,  with  only  EUR  227,7  million  from  EU  Member  State  budgets  and  other 
partners.  More  than  117  projects,  amounting  to  almost  EUR  2  billion,  have  been  approved. 
The Commission strongly calls on Member States to further contribute to the Fund. 

The Fund has also played an important role in the  Central Mediterranean, for instance by 
supporting the work of the International Organisation for Migration and United Nations High 
Commissioner for Refugees for improving the protection of migrants and refugees as well as 
to improve living conditions and create job opportunities in the host communities. A EUR 90 
million  programme  on  these  issues  was  adopted  in  April  2017.  Actions  under  the  Regional 
Development and Protection Programmes (RDPP) in North Africa and the Horn of Africa also 
contributed  to  this  goal.  Furthermore,  since  2016  joint  efforts  with  the  International 
Organisation  for  Migration  have  almost  tripled  the  number  of  assisted  voluntary  returns  of 
migrants  from  Libya  to  their  countries  of  origin:  in  2017  alone,  almost  7,500  people  have 
been returned from Libya, along with 4,000 from Niger, to their home countries. 

Last  but  not  least,  the  international  community  agreed  in  2015  on  an  innovative  agenda  on 
financing  for  development12,  which  calls  for  new  more  innovative  ways  to  finance 
development,  notably  to  mobilise  private  resources  in  order  to  meet  the  financing  gap  to 
achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. The new External Investment Plan is 
part of the EU’s contribution to these commitments. It is expected to trigger more than EUR 
44 billion of investments in partner countries in Africa and the EU Neighbourhood region by 
2020. 

10 COM(2016) 385 final of 7 June 2016. 
11  The  Commission  is  regularly  reporting  on  the  progress  made  in  the  implementation  of  the  Partnership 

Framework approach, see the latest report COM (2017) 471 final of 6 September 2017. 

12 http://www.un.org/esa/ffd/publications/aaaa-outcome.html. 

6 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
Migrant smuggling 

The  Union  and  Member  States  have  continued  to  take  effective  action  on  preventing  and 
combating  criminal  activity  by  smugglers  and  traffickers  along  the  entire  route,  starting 
upstream  in  countries  of  origin  and  transit  and  finishing  within  EU  territory.  Migrant 
smuggling continues to be a highly profitable source of criminal income13. 

The  Action  Plan  on  migrant  smuggling  of  May  201514  prompted  Member  States,  EU 
agencies  and  other  relevant  organisations  to  work  closely  together  around  key  priorities, 
which allowed the identification of gaps and solutions to address them. The implementation 
of the Plan is ongoing.  

In  particular, the  European Migrant  Smuggling Centre at Europol, launched in  2016, has 
shown substantial added value in providing operational support to Member States in fighting 
smuggling.  It  has  provided  support  in  conducting  pro-active,  high-profile  investigations 
against criminal networks, with 68 cases supported in 2017 so far, and 93 cases in its first year 
of operation leading to 147 arrests in 2016 and over 167 so far. The Centre is also supporting 
joint investigation teams (three in 2017; two in 2016) and has so far identified and monitored 
830 vessels of interest, which can potentially be involved in migrant smuggling.  

Member  States  and  EU  agencies  have  taken  specific  action  in  relation  to  financial 
investigations  of  migrant  smuggling,  including  by  focusing  on  the  role  of  Financial 
Intelligence  Units  and  their  cooperation  with  law  enforcement  in  tracing  illicit  financial 
flows. 

In  parallel,  in  October  2015,  the  Eurojust  Thematic  Group  on  Illegal  Immigrant  Smuggling 
was set up to identify and analyse challenges in the investigation and prosecution of migrant 
smuggling cases, as well as best practices in this area. In 2017, 10 Joint Investigation Teams 
are ongoing in 34 cases registered at Eurojust. 

Information  sharing  has  been  greatly  enhanced  at  all  levels,  both  through  dedicated  EU 
inter-agency coordination mechanisms as well as the set-up of a network of dedicated contact 
points in each Member State. Efforts must now also focus on breaking silos and mobilising all 
players  working  in  and  with  third  countries.  This  includes  finding  increased  synergies  in 
information  exchange  between  EU  military  and  civilian  missions  and  operations  and  law 
enforcement agencies. 

The  Commission  completed  a  thorough  evaluation  of  the  EU  legal  framework  on  migrant 
smuggling15  and  will  engage  with  relevant  stakeholders  and  EU  agencies  to  support  a 
reinforced exchange  of knowledge and good practice between  civil  society, prosecutors and 
law enforcement to avoid any criminalisation of humanitarian assistance in the framework of 
irregular migration. 

13 Joint Europol-INTERPOL Report, May 2016: Annual turnover of migrant smuggling was worth an estimated 
USD 5 to 6 billion in 2015, representing one of the main profit-generating activities for organised criminals in 
Europe. 

14 COM(2015) 285 final of 27 May 2015. 
15 SWD(2017) 117 final. 

7 

 
 
 
                                                            
But Member States need to advance and consolidate further their capacity to investigate 
and  prosecute  migrant  smuggling.  This  must  fully  tap  into  the  potential  of  structures  and 
resources  established since the adoption  of the European Agenda on  Migration. Timely and 
proactive information sharing is key. National investigators must talk to each other and fully 
use the resources provided by the EMSC at Europol, as an information and intelligence hub. 
The international observatory on migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings recently 
launched  by  the  European  naval  Operation  Sophia,  and  initiatives  launched  by  other  actors 
such as Interpol, will maximise their value-added by feeding into the EMSC. 

In  regard  to  the  cooperation  with  third  countries,  the  joint  investigation  team  model  of 
cooperation and capacity building successfully implemented in Niger16 is an example which 
should  be  applied  elsewhere.  This  implies  strengthening  the  coordination  of  EU  and 
Agencies’ liaison  officer  networks and ensuring effective use  of the existing platforms. The 
creation  of  new  EU  cooperation  platforms  on  migrant  smuggling  in  priority  third  countries 
should be envisaged. 

At  the  same  time  Common  Security  and  Defence  Policy  (CSDP)  missions17  have  been 
stepped up to support efforts to fight migrant smuggling within a broader framework aimed at 
enhancing  security  and  stability.  Operation  Sophia,  has  already  contributed  to  the  arrest  of 
117 suspected human smugglers and traffickers, 478 smuggling vessels being disposed of on 
the  high  seas  off  Libya,  while  the  Sahel  missions  have  provided  training  to  over  24,000 
civilian and military security forces. 

A  common  formal  framework  and  clear  mandates  of  staff  posted  in  third  countries  to  take 
actions  to  counter  migrant  smuggling  will  be  established  through  the  revision  of  the 
Immigration Liaison Officers Regulation18, which will be presented by the Commission in 
the first quarter of 2018. This will also allow exploiting in full the potential of the network of 
European  Migration  Liaison  Officers  who  have  been  deployed  in  12  priority  countries  to 
coordinate closely the work in this field with Member States on the ground.  

Finally, many migrants still underestimate the risks of irregular migration and have inaccurate 
perceptions of what life is like after irregular arrival in the EU. The EU has already funded 
information campaigns notably in Niger, Sudan and Ethiopia but more needs to be done to 
ensure  the  provision  of  reliable  information  in  third  countries.  In  this  respect,  on-going  and 
future EU and Member State awareness-raising and information campaigns in third countries 
need to use the full potential of mainstream and social media — as in the framework of the 
InfoMigrants19 project which reached a quarter of a million people by the end of August. To 
this purpose, the Commission is revamping the European Immigration Portal20. 

16  In  the  first  semester  of  2017,  101  persons  were  arrested  and  brought  before  a  court;  66  vehicles  and  8  

motorcycles were seized and placed under seal; 79 persons arrested for human trafficking related crimes. 

17 Operation Sophia and EUBAM Libya, as well as in the Sahel region EUCAP Sahel Niger, EUCAP Sahel Mali 

and EUTM Mali. 

18 Council Regulation (EC) No 377/2004 of 19 February 2004 on the creation of an immigration liaison officers 

network (OJ L 64, 2.3.2004, p. 1). 

19 http://www.infomigrants.net/  
20  It  provides  information  to  potential  migrants  on  legal  ways  to  come  to  Europe  and  on  the  risks  and 

consequences linked with entering or staying irregularly in the EU: http://ec.europa.eu/immigration/. 

8 

 
 
                                                            
Returns and readmission 

Steps  continued  to  be  taken  to  reinforce  the  EU  return  policy.  In  particular,  the  European 
Border  and  Coast  Guard  Agency  was  given  an  innovative  and  ambitious  mandate  to 
support  Member  States  and  ensure  operational  coordination  in  all  aspects  of  return.  In  its 
Renewed  Action  Plan  on  Returns  of  2  March  2017,  the  Commission  presented  concrete 
recommendations on how to make returns more effective by closing the gaps and addressing 
the fragmentation still present across national return practices. Through a sustained calendar 
of  Schengen  evaluations  in  the  area  of  return,  the  Commission  has  given  Member  States  a 
framework  in  which  shortcomings  could  be  corrected,  while  with  the  assistance  of  EU 
programmes  on  return  we  have  achieved  a  greater  degree  of  information  exchange  and 
convergence,  in  particular  on  developing  and  implementing  joint  frameworks  for  Assisted 
Voluntary Return and Reintegration Programmes (AVRRs) throughout the EU. 

And  yet,  according  to  EUROSTAT  data,  out  of  the  approximately  1  million  third-country 
nationals found to be illegally present in the EU in 2016, only half received orders to leave the 
EU,  and  less  than  half  of  that  figure  (226,000)  were  effectively  returned.  We  remain 
confronted with unsatisfactory return rates due to inefficient use of existing instruments at 
EU  and  at  national  level.  While  the  total  return  rate21  from  2014  to  2015  increased  from 
41,8% to 42,5%, the rate of effective returns to third countries dropped from 36,6% to 36,4%. 
Moreover,  if  return  to  the  Western  Balkans  is  disregarded,  the  European  Union  return  rate 
drops further to 27%. 

This  is  due  to  insufficient  enforcement  of  existing  instruments  at  EU  and  national  level22 
coupled  with  a  readmission  policy  which  is  still  not  yet  fully  developed.  Despite  progress 
made  in  the  implementation  of  existing  readmission  agreements,  the  finalisation  of  other 
negotiations  remain  at  a  standstill  and  those  launched  in  2016  have  not  progressed  as 
expected. The focus is therefore on improving practical cooperation.. Practical arrangements 
on return and readmission have been finalised with some key countries of origin while others 
are currently being negotiated. 

Section  3.3.  of  this  Communication  presents  concrete  ideas  to  further  improve  the 
implementation of returns. 

Addressing incentives for irregular stays 

A portion of our economy continues to rely on the labour of irregular migrants, which creates 
a  pull  factor  and  undermines  the  development  of  a  labour  mobility  policy  built  on  legal 
migration schemes. The Employers Sanction Directive has created the possibility to toughen 
the sanctions for illegal employment and improve the detection mechanisms. In line with this 
directive,  all  Member  States  prohibit  the  employment  of  irregular  migrants  and  impose 
financial, administrative or criminal sanctions. Nevertheless, the possibility of finding illegal 
work  remains  a  significant  incentive  to  irregular  migration  into  the  EU.  To  address  this 

21  It  includes  return  to  third  countries  as  well  as  passing  back  of  irregular  migrants  from  a  Member  State  to 
another,  on  the  basis  of  bilateral  readmission  agreements  according  to  Article  6(3)  of  the  Directive 
2008/115/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2008 on common standards and 
procedures in Member States for returning illegally staying third-country nationals (OJ L 348, 24.12.2008, p. 
98). 

22 See Communication on a more effective return policy in the EU – A renewed Action Plan, COM(2017) 200 

final of 2 March 2017. 

9 

 
 
                                                            
situation, the measures announced in the EU Action Plan against Migrant Smuggling should 
be fully implemented and Member States shall increase the number of labour inspections 
in  high-risk  economic  sectors.  The  Commission  will  annually  report  on  the  inspections 
carried out and ensure a forceful implementation of the Directive, launching infringements 
where necessary. 

Cooperation between Member States within the Platform on Undeclared Work23 should be 
fully  explored  to  ensure  better  understanding  of  conditions  of  employment  of  third-country 
nationals  and  reduce  illegality.  High-risk  sectors  should  be  targeted  as  a  priority,  with  the 
objective of disseminating best national experiences in dealing with employment of irregular 
migrants among relevant stakeholders, such as trade unions and employers' organisations. 

In addition to the pull factor represented by the underground economy, we must obtain, at EU 
level, a better understanding of all other factors that contribute, directly or indirectly, to the 
state  of  irregularity  of  migrants  in  the  EU.  The  Commission  will  therefore  launch 
consultations with Member States and other players, to catalogue these factors contributing to 
irregular entry and stay of migrants on EU territory, to identify and collect best practices of 
disincentives.  This  process  will  include  enhanced  cooperation  with  national  and  local 
authorities  other  than  those  responsible  for  migration  management,  such  as  social  security, 
education,  tax,  driving  and  vehicle  licencing  offices  and  other  services  dealing  with  third-
country nationals. 

Finally,  in  this  context,  as  part  of  the  overall  communication  strategy,  the  Commission  will 
develop  dedicated  activities  including  the  relevant  diaspora  within  the  EU,  which,  while 
playing  an  important  role  in  the  economic  development  of  the  home  countries,  can  be 
mobilised to support measures taken at national and EU level aimed at reducing the irregular 
stay of migrants. 

2.3.   Border management – saving lives and securing external borders  

Having a common external border requires that all states of the Schengen area cooperate and 
share the burden for its management. The measures taken to improve the management of the 
external border have therefore called on the solidarity and responsibility of all Member States. 

Saving lives is and will remain our priority 

Recurring  tragedies  along  the  main  –  particularly  maritime  –  migration  routes,  have 
demonstrated that the perilous journeys of migrants endanger human lives, not least due to the 
means used by smugglers without scruples. The protection of borders must therefore continue 
including  life-saving  operations.  The  EU  has  boosted  substantially  the  joint  operations 
Triton and Poseidon of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency. Operations were 
equally  launched  by  the  Agency  in  the  Western  Mediterranean.  The  efforts  of  these  joint 
operations  which  are  closely  coordinated  and  combined  with  the  assets  deployed  by 
EUNAVFOR  MED  Sophia,  as  well  as  of  a  number  of  NGOs  and  merchant  vessels,  have 
saved 620,000 human lives since 2015. On the Eastern Mediterranean Route, lives lost at sea 
have  decreased  considerably.  113 fatalities  and  missing  persons  have  been  recorded  in  the 
Aegean  Sea  since  the  activation  of  the  EU-Turkey  Statement,  compared  to  around  1,150 
people who died, or were reported missing, during the year preceding the Statement. The EU 

23  Decision (EU) 2016/344  of the  European Parliament  and  of  the  Council of  9 March 2016 on  establishing  a 

European Platform to enhance cooperation in tackling undeclared work (OJ L 65, 11.3.2016, p. 12). 

10 

 
 
                                                            
is also supporting the Turkish Coast Guard with EUR 20 million to increase their capacity in 
carrying out search and rescue operations. 

Despite these efforts, every life lost is one too many. This is why the EU and Member States 
are training and supporting the Libyan Coast Guard to carry out search and rescue operations 
in  its  sovereign  waters.  A  EUR  46,3  million  project  co-funded  by  the  EU  and  Italy  to 
reinforce border management capacities in Libya was approved in July 2017 and will continue 
in  the  coming  years.  Partly  as  a  result  of  the  EU  support  to  the  Libyan  Coast  Guard,  the 
number of lives lost along the Central Mediterranean route decreased from 4,581 in 2016 to 
2,372 by 21 September 201724. 

European Border and Coast Guard 

The  establishment  of  the  European  Border  and  Coast  Guard  Agency  in  2016  was  a 
ground-breaking achievement, shifting the integrated management of the EU external borders 
from solely national competence towards a shared responsibility of the Member States and the 
Agency.  For  the  first  time,  in  line  with  what  was  asked  for  in  the  European  Agenda  on 
Migration, the new mandate of the Agency includes coast guard functions carried out in close 
cooperation with the European Maritime Safety Agency and the European Fisheries Control 
Agency,  such  as  joint  surveillance  flights  for  fisheries  and  border  control  in  the  Central 
Mediterranean.  A  substantial  boost  in  resources  and  equipment  has  given  the  Agency 
increased  capacity  to  intervene.  Equally,  the  new  mandatory  rapid  reaction  pools  have 
enhanced  the  Agency's  capability  to  respond  swiftly  to  emergency  situation  at  Europe's 
external borders. 

The  Agency  currently  deploys  over  1,700  border  guards  and  other  relevant  staff  at 
different sections of the EU external borders. Soon it will also be able to deploy teams on 
the  territory  of  Serbia  and  the  former  Yugoslav  Republic  of  Macedonia  to  support  them  in 
effectively  controlling  their  borders.  The  strengthening  of  the  capacity  of  third  countries  to 
manage  their  borders  was  another  important  action  called  for  in  the  European  Agenda  on 
Migration. 

Stronger and smarter information systems 

Work on smart borders was taken forward with proposals for the Entry-Exit System (EES) 
and the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS). Once in place, 
these systems will allow for better detection of possible migratory risks and abuses and will 
enhance  public  security.  In  June  2017,  the  Commission  presented  a  legislative  proposal  to 
strengthen the mandate of eu-LISA, the European Agency for the operational management of 
large-scale  IT  systems  in  the  area  of  freedom,  security  and  justice.  The  Commission  will 
come  forward  as  soon  as  possible  with  proposals  to  overcome  the  remaining  identified 
shortcomings in data management, in particular by improving the interoperability of the EU's 
central information systems existing in this area. This will contribute to better protecting the 
EU's external borders and enhance its internal security, for example by ensuring that end users 
—  particularly  border  guards,  law  enforcement  officers,  immigration  officials  and  judicial 
authorities — have fast and seamless access to all information that they need to perform their 
tasks. 

24 IOM figures, http://missingmigrants.iom.int/region/mediterranean. 

11 

 
 
                                                            
Hotspots 

In  parallel  with  the  above-mentioned  efforts  to  strengthen  the  protection  of  EU  external 
borders, the setting up of hotspots in Greece and Italy is a tangible operational achievement 
and a concrete example of the principles of solidarity and responsibility in responding to the 
pressure faced by these Member States. 

Today, 5 hotspots  are operating in  Greece and 4 in  Italy, with  a total  capacity in Greece of 
more than 7,000 places and more than 1,500 in Italy. It is estimated that more than 261,000 
migrants  have  arrived  in  the  hotspots  between  1st  January  2016  and  15  September  2017 
(185,000 in Greece and more than 76,000 in Italy) They have been offered medical care and 
screening,  properly  identified,  fingerprinted,  screened,  registered  and  informed  about  their 
rights in one single location so as to ensure that they are being immediately channelled into 
the  appropriate  procedure,  contributing  to  swifter  decision-making  on  their  status.  In  2015, 
before the setting up of hotspots, 58% of migrants only were fingerprinted on arrival in Italy; 
today,  thanks  to  the  hotspot  approach,  almost  100%  are.  Hotspots  have  facilitated  an 
increased number of secondary security checks by Europol and national authorities that have 
contributed  to  identifying  risk  profiles  and  fighting  smugglers  networks.  The  hotspots  have 
also become  one of the  tools that facilitate the implementation  of the relocation schemes in 
Greece and Italy by successfully organising the provision of information and the channelling 
of eligible asylum seekers to relocation procedures. Hotspots have also contributed to better 
identifying  vulnerable  cases  (such  as  victims  of  trafficking,  people  with  serious  health 
conditions and unaccompanied minors) and referring them to the relevant support services. 

Building  on  the  above-mentioned  achievements,  with  coordinated  support  by  EU  Agencies, 
both Greece and Italy should also comprehensively implement the full operational potential of 
the  hotspots  approach.  Taking  into  consideration  the  evolution  of  trends  and  needs,  both 
countries need to be prepared to expand and upgrade the reception capacity and conditions in 
the  hotspots,  and  to  better  address  the  specific  needs  of  vulnerable  groups  (standardised 
vulnerability assessment by specialists, Child Protection Officers, separated areas, etc.). Clear 
roles and responsibilities as well as a more effective coordination on the ground should also 
be  ensured  in  close  cooperation  with  the  host  Member  States,  in  particular  through  the  EU 
regional taskforces which should be given a clear mandate. 

The hotspot approach has shown itself to be a flexible and useful EU instrument that can be 
adapted to  any Member State in the same situation. Based on the lessons learned in Greece 
and Italy, the Commission will present later in the autumn guidelines, including a template for 
standard operating procedures on how to set up and use hotspots in case of disproportionate 
migratory pressure at the external border of any Member State. 

2.4.   Europe's  duty  to  protect:  a  strong  common  asylum  policy  and  increased  legal 

avenues to Europe 

Securing  Europe's  external  borders  must  be  paired  with  a  fully  efficient,  fair  and  humane 
common asylum policy. While taking, together with Member States, resolute steps to relieve 
the  asylum  pressure  on  Italy  and  Greece,  the  Commission  also  proposed  a  fully-fledged 
reform of the Common European Asylum System. 

12 

 
 
Relocation 

Faced with the unprecedented level of arrivals in the summer of 2015, the Council, following 
Commission  proposals,  decided  on  the  first  ever  large-scale  EU-coordinated  effort  to 
relocate a significant number of asylum applicants from Italy and Greece, the pressure on the 
asylum systems of the two countries has effectively decreased. Under the Council Decisions, 
Member States agreed to relocate 160,000 applicants in clear need of international protection. 
For  54,000  of  those,  Member  States  were  given  the  possibility  to  fulfil  their  relocation 
obligations towards Italy and Greece through legal admission from Turkey. 

The  Council  Decisions  of  2015  apply  to  migrants  in  clear  need  of  international  protection 
arriving in the territory of Italy and Greece until 26 September 2017. The immediate priority 
should be to ensure that all the remaining persons who arrived up to that date and meet all 
the  requirements  in  the  Council  Decisions,  are  relocated  from  both  Italy  and  Greece 
swiftly.  In  total,  around  37,000  people  are  expected  to  be  effectively  relocated  under  the 
scheme. Therefore, it is crucial that all Member States — in particular Poland, Hungary and 
the Czech Republic as well as those that have not used up their relocation allocations in full 
— step up their efforts. 

The  migratory  pressure  on  Italy  and  Greece  remains  high,  due  to  the  accumulated  backlog 
from  the  influx  during  2016  and  first  half  of  2017.  Therefore,  the  EU  should  continue  to 
show  solidarity  with  Italy  and  Greece.  The  Commission  stands  ready  to  provide  financial 
support  to  those  Member  States  sustaining  their  relocation  efforts  beyond  the  current 
schemes. The assistance provided by EASO and other EU agencies to Italy and Greece should 
also continue and, when needed, be further reinforced. 

The Common European Asylum System 

While  the  emergency  relocation  system  produced  tangible  results,  relieving  the  pressure  on 
Greece and Italy, it is clear that ad-hoc measures are not sustainable. The pressure placed on 
the EU asylum system, and in particular the serious dysfunctions which were exposed in the 
Dublin  system  for  determining  responsibility  among  Member  States,  have  highlighted  the 
need  for  a  far-reaching  structural  reform  of  the  Common  European  Asylum  System. 
Accordingly,  in  May  and  July  2016,  the  Commission  proposed  an  overhaul  of  all  of  the 
main legal instruments of the Common European Asylum System, with the objective of 
ensuring a more harmonised and efficient system where asylum-seekers are treated alike by 
all  Member  States  in  terms  of  reception  conditions,  procedures,  and  status  determinations; 
tackling  abuses  and  secondary  movements;  where  only  those  genuinely  in  need  of 
international protection are given a status; and where there is a fair sharing of responsibility 
for asylum applicants across the Union via a comprehensive reform of the Dublin system. 

The negotiations on the seven legislative proposals put on the table are advancing at different 
speeds. A political agreement was reached on the proposal for a European Union Agency for 
Asylum  and  trilogues  have  started  on  the  Eurodac  proposal.  Progress  was  made  also  in  the 
negotiations on the Reception Conditions Directive, the Qualification and Asylum Procedures 
Regulations  as  well  as  the  proposal  for  a  Union  Resettlement  Framework.  However, 
discussions  on  a  reformed  Dublin  system  are  still  far  behind.  A  renewed  commitment  is 
needed to make substantial progress on all the files, particularly on a reformed Dublin system. 
The suggestions how to achieve that are set out in the Section 3.1 of this Communication. 

13 

 
 
At  the  same  time,  in  parallel  with  finalising  the  negotiations  on  the  reform  of  the  Common 
European  Asylum  System,  a  coherent  implementation  of  the  applicable  EU  acquis  on 
asylum  by  the  Member  States  remains  key,  not  least  since  this  contributes  to  a  good 
functioning of the Schengen area of free movement. In this sense, and particularly to ensure 
the  coherent  application  of  the  Dublin  Regulation,  Greece  should  continue  its  efforts  to 
implement  the  Commission  Recommendation  of  8  December  2016  to  ensure  a  gradual 
resumption  of  Greece's  responsibility  under  the  existing  Dublin  Regulation.  Continuing 
relocation from Greece should also contribute to facilitating this gradual resumption. Hungary 
should  take  urgent  action  to  address  the  deficiencies  identified  by  the  Commission  in  its 
complementary letter of formal notice, especially bearing in mind that these deficiencies are 
leading  Member  States’  authorities  to  suspend  Dublin  transfers  to  Hungary.  Also  Member 
States  should  react  more  speedily  to  Dublin  take-charge  requests  from  Italy  and  Greece, 
particularly those based on family links. 

Children in migration  

We also need to step up and coordinate our efforts to implement the actions urgently needed 
to strengthen the protection of children in migration, as identified in the Communication on 
the  Protection  of  Children  in  Migration  of  12  April  201725  and  reiterated  in  the  Council 
Conclusions  of  8-9  June  201726.  The  significant  number  of  migrant  children  arriving  in 
Europe in the last years has put national systems and administrations under strain and exposed 
various shortcomings in the protection of migrant children. Some progress has already been 
made in addressing those shortcomings (for example, in covering urgent protection needs in 
the Member States under pressure, with support from the EU and its agencies or in providing 
education in emergencies), but further (and better coordinated) efforts are still needed at both 
EU and Member State level in relation to the six main areas of intervention identified in the 
Communication27.  Swift  progress  has  been  made  at  the  EU  level  towards  the  creation  of  a 
European  network  on  guardianship.  The  promotion  of  alternatives  to  detention  is  also  a 
central issue to the European Forum on the rights of the child of 6-8 November 2017. 

Resettlement, humanitarian admission and other forms of legal admission  

In order to substitute dangerous and irregular migration flows to the EU with safe and legal 
pathways from the very outset  of the crisis,  the EU has  worked to  provide  increased legal 
channels for the growing number of displaced persons in need of international protection. In 
this  regard  the  first  EU-wide  resettlement  scheme  was  launched  in  July  2015  following  a 
Commission  recommendation,  as  well  as  the  "One  for  One"  resettlement  mechanism  under 
the  EU-Turkey  Statement.  These  schemes,  which  are  an  integral  part  of  our  comprehensive 
response,  have  been  positive  developments.  During  the  period  2015-2017,  some  Member 
States  resettled  for  the  first  time  while  more  experienced  countries  scaled  up  their 
commitments and processed larger numbers than before. As a result, over 23,000 people have 
been  resettled  via  the  European  schemes  during  that  period.  In  2016  alone,  Member  States 
resettled over 14,200 refugees via national and multilateral schemes — a significant increase 

25 COM(2017)211 final of 12 April 2017. 
26 http://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-10085-2017-INIT/en/pdf. 
27 1) addressing the root causes of migration (EU external action); 2) swift and comprehensive identification and 
registration;  3)  providing  adequate  reception  in  the  EU;  4)  ensuring  swift  and  effective  access  to  status 
determination procedures and implementation of procedural safeguards; 5) ensuring durable solutions; and 6) 
cross-cutting actions (respect of the best interest of the child, more effective use of data, research, training and 
funding). 

14 

 
 
                                                            
compared to the 8,155 people resettled in 2015, 6,550 in 2014, and between 4,000 and 5,000 
per  year  in  the  period  2010-2013.  This  increase  shows  the  added  value  and  potential  of 
strengthened EU-level cooperation and coordination in the area of resettlement as well as of 
increased EU funding to support Member States' resettlement efforts. 

2.5.  Legal migration, visas and integration 

Legal migration 

Well managed legal migration can help the EU address the challenges linked to a shrinking 
working-age  population  and  the  existence  of  structural  skills'  shortages  in  its  labour  market 
complementing  upskilling  and  employment  efforts  of  the  existing  work  force.  The 
Commission has already put on the table last year a proposal for a more effective Blue Card 
Directive, and calls upon the co-legislators to step up the negotiations and reach an ambitious 
and swift agreement on this important issue. A European Blue Card scheme with a high level 
of  ambition  is  necessary  to  enable  the  EU  to  attract  the  highly  skilled  workers  its  economy 
needs. 

In  parallel,  the  Commission  has  been  evaluating  the  existing  legal  migration  acquis28,  in 
order  to  identify  any  significant  gaps,  problematic  issues  and  inconsistencies  and  consider 
possible  ways  of  simplifying  and  streamlining  the  current  framework.  It  is  also  exploring 
“expression  of  interest”  systems  used  by  non  EU  countries.  This,  together  with  a  better 
implementation  of  the  Directives  on  legal  migration  especially  on  students  and  researchers, 
seasonal  workers  or  intra  corporate  transferees,  can  contribute  to  better  manage  labour 
migration  at  EU  level  and  to  attract  the  specific  skills  according  to  the  needs  of  the  EU's 
economies. 

Visas 

The  EU's  common  visa  policy  is  an  essential  tool  for  facilitating  tourism  and  business  but 
properly working visa policy is also a key tool to prevent security risks or risks of irregular 
migration to the EU. 

In April 2014, the Commission presented the Visa Code Recast and Touring Visa proposals 
with  a  view  to  promoting  economic  growth  through  visa  facilitations  conducive  to  tourism 
and  trade.  Negotiations  between  the  co-legislators  on  these  proposals  have  not  made  any 
substantial  progress.  And  in  the  meantime,  the  migratory  and  security  situation  has 
substantially changed. 

To  respond  to  the  current  migratory  and  security  challenges,  some  measures  regarding  visa 
free  travel  to  the  EU  have  been  taken  recently,  such  as  the  adoption  in  early  2017  of  a 
reinforced suspension mechanism allowing the EU to temporarily suspend visa-free travel for 
countries  which  might  pose  a  substantial  migratory  or  security  risk  or  the  proposed  future 
European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS). 

However,  the  common  visa  policy  needs  to  be  further  adapted  to  the  current  challenges  by 
taking  account  of  new  IT  solutions  and  balancing  benefits  of  facilitated  visa  and  visa-free 

28 Legal migration fitness check, see: 

 http://ec.europa.eu/smart-regulation/roadmaps/docs/2016_home_199_fitnesscheck_legal_migration_en.pdf 

15 

 
 
                                                            
 
 
travel (e.g. trade, tourism, people to people contacts) with improved migration, security and 
border management. 

Based  on  consultations  with  Member  States  and  the  European  Parliament,  the  Commission 
will  therefore  come  forward,  in  January  2018,  with  its  ideas  on  how  to  modernise  the  EU's 
common visa policy for both the short and longer term. In this context, the Commission will 
assess  critically  whether  the  current  visa  policy  still  matches  the  present  and  future 
challenges.  The  main  objectives  will  be  to  bring  the  visa  policy  up  to  speed  with  the 
development of new border management systems (EES and ETIAS), to better use visa policy 
in our cooperation with third countries, and to ensure a better balance between migration and 
security concerns, economic considerations and general external relations. 

As  a  first  step,  it  is  important  to  address  the  current  divergent  practices  that  lead  to  a 
competition among Member States in issuing multiple-entry visas by putting in place a more 
harmonised visa policy. At the same time some visa-issuing rules (for instance those related to 
visas with long validity and visa fees) should be reviewed to ensure that they can play a part 
in our readmission policy. The Commission will table a targeted proposal in January 2018 to 
address these issues. Moreover, in June 2018, the Commission will propose to revise the Visa 
Information  System  (VIS)  legal  framework  aimed  at  further  improving  the  visa  processing, 
including  on  data  protection  related  aspects  and  access  for  law  enforcement  authorities,  to 
further expand the use of the VIS for new categories and uses of data and to make full use of 
the  interoperability  instruments.  These  two  proposals  will  contribute  to  better  migration 
management, to strengthen security and to improve control of external borders.  

Integration 

While Member States have the primary role in developing integration strategies and policies, 
their experience and capacity in the field of integration are very diverse. The EU has therefore 
an important role to play to help them develop and implement effective integration strategies, 
exchange best practices and thereby contribute to the creation of a level playing field vis-à-vis 
integration  at  EU  level.  The  implementation  of  the  EU  Action  Plan  on  the  Integration  of 
third-country  nationals,  set  out  in  2016,  has  already  delivered  results  on  many  fronts. 
Examples  of  such  results  were  the  reform  of  the  European  Integration  Network  –  to 
strengthen  exchanges  and  mutual  learning  between  national  authorities  responsible  for 
integration,  the  launch  of  the  Skills  Profile  Tool  for  third-country  nationals  to  support 
Member  States  in  the  early  profiling  of  the  skills  and  qualifications  of  migrants,  and  the 
unprecedented  financial  support  to  all  actors  playing  a  role  in  integration,  including  civil 
society. 

Tackling  the  specific  challenges  related  to  integration  of  third  country  nationals  into  our 
societies  will  remain  a  priority  both  for  the  short  and  the  long  term  and  therefore  the 
Commission encourages Member States to give adequate importance to this matter. 

In  May  2017,  the  Commission  launched  the  'Employers  for  integration'  initiative  to 
promote  employers’  efforts  aimed  at  fostering  integration  of  third-country  nationals  in  the 
labour  market.  The  Commission  is  also  working  to  establish  a  partnership  with  social  and 
economic  partners  at  European  level  to  work more  closely  together  to  promote  a  faster  and 
more  effective  integration  of  refugees  in  the  European  labour  market.  Concrete  financial 
support will further sustain this process and promote concrete actions in the Member States. 

16 

 
 
Recognising the crucial role of local and regional authorities in the integration process, the 
Commission  has  also  worked  to  enhance  the  cooperation  with  and  the  support  to  local  and 
regional  authorities  in  particular  through  the  Urban  Agenda  Partnership  on  the  Inclusion  of 
Migrants  and  Refugees.  This  will  continue  by  for  example  piloting  an  Urban  Academy  on 
integration,  as  well  as  through  targeted  funding  to  support  transnational  networks  of  cities 
working on integration. 

3.  Next steps in delivering the European Agenda on Migration 

Migration will remain a defining issue for the EU for the years to come. The past and ongoing 
efforts  in  the  different  fields  outlined  above,  including  management  of  the  external  border, 
will have to continue, as a migration risk and the need for saving lives are still there. 

In addition and in parallel to fully applying all the existing rules and delivering the necessary 
contributions  to  joint  actions  and  funds,  for  the  Union  to  fully  deliver  on  the  European 
Agenda on Migration, it is now necessary to intensify efforts in four priority areas: setting the 
right  legal  framework  to  make  the  Common  European  Asylum  System  future-proof, 
enhancing  legal  pathways  to  replace  irregular  migration,  increasing  the  effectiveness  of 
returns  to  shift  resources  to  those  who  need  them  and  working  with  priority  countries  and 
organisations to better manage migration together. 

3.1.  Reform of the Common European Asylum System 

While the efforts deployed so far by the Union responding to the crisis situation, including the 
emergency  relocation  mechanism,  had  tangible  results,  we  cannot  continue  to  rely  on  ad-
hoc  measures.  The  Common  European  Asylum  System  reform  is  a  key  part  of  the 
comprehensive  migration  strategy,  where  work  will  need  to  continue  on  all  the  different 
migration strands to produce results. 

For  this  reform  to  be  successful  the  system  must  be  crisis-resistant.  This  requires  that 
unexpected  situations  can  be  addressed  effectively,  that  national  systems  are  brought  closer 
together and that mutual trust among Member States is deepened, including with a solidarity 
mechanism that ensures fair sharing of responsibility. 

As President Juncker said in the State of the Union Address 2017, achieving a good result on 
reforming the Common European Asylum System will need all sides to move towards each 
other. The Commission will be open to compromise as long as the outcome is the right one 
for the Union and is fair to all Member States. 

As  noted  by  the  European  Council29,  there  is  a  common  understanding  that  the  reformed 
Common  European  Asylum  System  needs  to  strike  the  right  balance  between  responsibility 
and  solidarity  and  that  it  needs  to  ensure  resilience  to  future  crises.  The  system  has  to  be 
efficient, to be able to withstand migratory pressure, to avoid pull factors as well as secondary 
movements, in compliance with international law, fight abuse and provide adequate support to 
the most affected Member States. The European Council will revert to this issue and therefore 
invited the Council to continue negotiations, with the active help of the Commission. 

29  European  Council  conclusions  of  22-23  June  2017,  http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-
releases/2017/06/23-euco-conclusions/ 

17 

 
 
                                                            
A  reformed  Dublin  system  is  the  only  structural  solution  and  urgent  progress  leading  to 
political  agreement  on  this  file  remains  the  determining  factor  for  the  completion  of  the 
reform of the Common European Asylum System. There is now is a window of opportunity to 
advance  the  work  on  the  remaining  outstanding  points  and  achieve  further  progress  by 
defining the outlines of a future overall agreement on the Common European Asylum System 
by the end of the year. 

In parallel with the negotiations on the Dublin reform, progress needs to continue on all the 
other  proposals:  the  proposal  reviewing  the  reception  conditions,  the asylum  qualifications 
and  the  asylum  procedures  proposals  as  well  as  the  proposal  putting  in  place  an  EU 
resettlement framework. 

While it is important to have all these interconnected initiatives adopted swiftly in line with 
the  Joint  Declaration  on  the  EU's  legislative  priorities  for  201730,  the  Commission  warmly 
welcomes  the  good  progress  already  achieved  on  the  proposals  to  reform  Eurodac  and  the 
European Union Agency for Asylum. The Commission encourages the European Parliament 
and the Council to reach agreement on these important tools, supporting the implementation 
of  the  Common  European  Asylum  System,  with  an  understanding  that  some  aspects  might 
need  to  be  amended  in  light  of  the  overall  agreement.  Such  an  approach  would  also  ensure 
that the agreed system can be operationalised as soon as possible. 

3.2.  Enhance legal pathways 

3.2.1. Resettlement 

Resettlement (and similar forms of humanitarian admission) remains a key protection tool. It 
is a clear demonstration of global solidarity with third countries and responsibility-sharing for 
persons  in  need  of  protection.  The  Commission  supports  UN  High  Commissioner  Grandi's 
call  to  resettle  a  further  40,000  refugees  from  Libya  and  the  surrounding  countries. 
Resettlement  efforts  are  also  part  of  our  EU  asylum  and  migration  policy.  These  legal 
pathways, as alternatives to irregular and dangerous journeys, help to save lives, contribute to 
reducing irregular migration and alleviate migratory pressure on concerned Member States. 

Building  upon  the  increased  efforts  over  the  past  two  years,  and  with  global  resettlement 
needs  remaining  at  a  historical  high  of  1.2  million,  the  EU  should  aim  to  resettle  at  least 
50,000 additional persons in need of international protection by October 2019. To reach this 
goal,  the  Commission recommends  today  the  resettlement  of  at  least  50,000  persons  in 
need  of  international  protection  and  will  make  available  EUR  500  million  for  that 
purpose. This recommendation follows up the resettlement pledging exercise on 4 July 2017, 
which  resulted  so  far  in  around  14  000  pledges.  With  this  new  initiative  we  should  ensure 
continued  resettlement  from  Turkey  in  order  to  deliver  on  the  EU-Turkey  Statement  (also 
with  a  view  of  the  future  Voluntary  Humanitarian  Admission  Scheme),  from  Jordan  and 
Lebanon,  both  of  which  are  hosting  large  numbers  of  refugees,  as  well  as  from  countries 
along the Central Mediterranean route in North Africa and the Horn of Africa, namely Libya, 
Egypt, Niger, Sudan, Chad and Ethiopia. Increased focus on resettlement from the countries 
along  the  Central  Mediterranean  route  will  also  help  to  support  the  planned  UNHCR 

30 Joint Declaration on the EU's legislative priorities for 2017 by the European Parliament, the Council and the 
European  Commission,  https://ec.europa.eu/commission/publications/joint-declaration-eus-legislative-priorities-
2017_en  

18 

 
 
                                                            
temporary mechanism for emergency evacuation from Libya. The pledges should be made by 
the end of October. 

However,  the  EU  needs  to  move  from  ad-hoc  schemes  to  a  stable  framework.  The 
Commission  proposed  in  July  2016  to  establish  a  Union  Resettlement  Framework  with  the 
ambition  of  creating  a  solid  framework  for  safe  and  legal  avenues  to  access  international 
protection from outside of the EU. The adoption of this proposal becomes urgent to build a 
comprehensive and sustainable EU migration policy. 

In parallel, Member States should continue making full use of other available legal avenues 
for  persons  in  need  of  protection.  In  particular,  Member  States  are  encouraged  to  explore 
ways  to  establish  private  sponsorship  schemes  where  the  settlement  and  integration  support 
for  persons  in  need  of  protection,  including  its  related  costs,  can  be  provided  by  private 
groups  of  civil  society  organisations.  To  facilitate  these  efforts  and  to  further  explore  the 
possibilities  to  develop  these  schemes  in  the  EU  the  Commission  invites  EASO  to 
coordinate a pilot project31 on private sponsorship schemes with interested Member States 
and  engaging  a  wide  variety  of  relevant  civil  society  organisations, 
international 
organisations, and potential private sponsors in cooperation with the Member States. 

3.2.2. Pilot projects on legal migration 

The role of legal migration channels in our cooperation with third countries needs to become a 
more important component so that concrete results can be achieved, taking into account our 
present and future socio-economic needs. Legal migration is already an important component 
of migration flows to the EU. Enhanced and tailored cooperation on legal migration with third 
countries of origin and transit of migrants can help reduce irregular migration by offering safe 
and lawful alternatives to persons wishing to migrate; it may bridge gaps in certain sectors of 
the  labour  markets  of  EU  Member  States;  while  facilitating  cooperation  on  issues  such  as 
prevention of irregular migration and readmission and return of irregular migrants. 

Therefore, while fully respecting Member States' competences as laid out in the Treaties, the 
Commission is ready in 2018 to coordinate pilot projects with third countries, and provide 
related financial support, where Member States would engage themselves in receiving certain 
numbers  of  migrants  coming  through  legal  channels,  in  particular  including  for  economic 
purposes. Initially, these pilot projects could be explored with selected third countries based 
on  the  quality  of  the  partnership  on  migration  management  and  the  level  of  concrete 
cooperation  on  combatting  irregular  flows  and  readmission  of  irregular  migrants.  In  this 
process, it is important to promote the involvement of the private-sector, and particularly of 
economic and social stakeholders. Public-private partnerships, which have been very effective 
in the area of integration, are essential in order to identify the needs of the EU labour markets, 
the  existing  shortages  and  to  assess  how  migration  can  help  address  these  shortages  and  to 
ensuring a more effective integration in the labour market. 

3.3.  A more effective policy on returns  

According to statistical information provided by Member States, there were close to 1 million 
third-country  nationals  found  to  be  illegally  present  in  the  EU  in  2016,  with  the  number  of 
third-country  nationals  ordered  to  leave  the  EU  standing  at  almost  500,000  that  year  alone. 

31  It  will  be  conducted  in  parallel  with  the  recently  launched  study  by  the  Commission  on  the  feasibility  and 

added value of sponsorship schemes as a possible pathway to safe channels for admission to the EU. 

19 

 
 
                                                            
With  around  2,6  million  asylum  applications  in  2015/2016  alone,  and  with  a  first  instance 
recognition  rate  which  stands  at  57%  in  2016  (50%  in  the  first  quarter  of  2017),  Member 
States may face more than 1,5 million persons to return in the near future. 

When only 36% of irregular migrants are returned, it is clear we need to significantly step up 
our work. Having an effective system to return those who have no right to stay is the only way 
Europe will be able to show solidarity with refugees in real need of protection. 

Effective returns would also be a strong signal against taking dangerous irregular journeys to 
the EU in the first place. The existing EU legislation32 already provides a common set of rules 
for national return systems to follow and implement. 

Given the unsatisfactory current situation, it is now essential that both Member States and the 
European  Border  and  Coast  Guard  Agency  take  additional  efforts,  with  the  support  of  the 
Commission,  and  deliver  effective  returns.  This  cannot  be  achieved  without  jointly  and 
systematically taking action and strengthening cooperation with third countries to ensure that 
the obligations to readmit own nationals are fulfilled, drawing on the Partnership Framework, 
the Valletta follow-up, and any other political opportunity as required. 

Reinforced EU return management through the European Border and Coast Guard Agency  

The  European  Border  and  Coast  Guard  Agency  is  mandated  to  organise,  coordinate  and 
conduct  return  operations  and  return  interventions  and  provide  the  necessary  assistance  to 
Member States in organising such operations at EU level. To achieve this, the Agency must 
accelerate  the  transition  from  demand-driven  approach,  where  the  Agency  acts  only  when 
requested  by  one  or  more  Member  States,  to  a  proactive  return  management  approach,  in 
which  the  Agency  becomes  a  true  driver  for  the  EU  and  its  Member  States.  To  fulfil  that 
mandate,  the  current  return  unit  should  be  transformed  into  a  dedicated,  properly  equipped 
and staffed Return Department within the Agency. This Department must take the lead on the 
implementation of all measures and tools provided by the European Border and Coast Guard 
Regulation.  The  Agency  must  develop  operational  plans  with  concrete  return  objectives  by 
mid-2018 for each Member State according  to their  return needs and priorities,  focusing on 
those third countries with readmission arrangements in place in order to maximise results. If 
necessary, the Agency may consider establishing operational antennas in key Member States. 

The Agency should also design pilot projects developing and testing innovative solutions for 
joint  management  of  returns,  for  example  by  putting  in  place  a  mechanism  for  capacity 
sharing  between  Member  States  (including  joint  project  development  management  and 
procurement,  shared  contracting  including  on  commercial  flights,  shared  detention  capacity 
and management of detention facilities, shared consular support). 

Member States' actions 

But  the  actions  of  the  European  Border  and  Coast  Guard  Agency  will  only  be  successful  if 
they go hand in hand with increased efforts from the Member States. Member States should 
continue with the implementation of the Recommendation and the Renewed Action Plan on 
Returns,  fully  applying  the  flexibility  available  in  the  existing  legislation.  They  should 

32  Directive  2008/115/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  16  December  2008  on  common 
standards and procedures in Member  States for returning illegally staying third-country nationals, OJ L 348, 
24.12.2008, p. 98. 

20 

 
 
                                                            
streamline their national return systems to favour operational integration of return activities at 
EU level as organised by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, notably by providing 
information  about  the  indicative  planning  of  national  return  operations,  including  on  the 
number of returnees and third countries of return on regular basis. 

With coordinated support by EU Agencies, Member States at the external border should also 
comprehensively implement the full operational potential of the hotspots approach, to ensure 
that return operations can be managed more swiftly and efficiently, particularly in situations 
of significant surges in irregular arrivals. This may imply putting in place necessary measures 
with  a  view  to  quickly  identifying  those  who  are  manifestly  not  in  need  of  protection  or 
whose  claims  are  inadmissible,  accompanied  by  the  effective  means  to  ensure  that  such 
persons can then be quickly returned. 

The Commission-run Irregular Migration Management Application (IRMA) should be further 
developed  and  integrated  in  the  course  of  2018  into  the  European  Border  and  Coast  Guard 
Agency’s and the Member States’ workflow on returns management. 

The  Commission  will,  through  regular  reporting,  take  stock  of  the  progress  made.  The 
Commission  will  work  together  with  Member  States  to  track  progress  on  returns,  share 
information  on  developments  in  the  field  of  irregular  migration  and  will  provide  a  regular 
feedback on the performance of return systems across the EU, covering both Member States 
and the European Border and Coast Guard Agency. 

If the fragmentation and most importantly the unsatisfactory return rates continue, there might 
be a need to explore further convergence. This could concern standardising all aspects of the 
return  process  from  identification/apprehension  until  the  execution  of  return,  approximation 
of rules on risk on absconding, grounds for detention and rules on issuing of entry bans and 
look  into  an  increased  coherence  with  the  asylum  procedures  as  well  as  facilitating  the 
enforcement  of  Member  States'  return  decisions  with  an  EU-wide  validity,  sharing  the 
responsibility  for  their  enforcement  between  Member  States  and  the  European  Border  and 
Coast Guard Agency. 

3.4.  The external dimension: the Partnership Framework for Migration 

Since the adoption of the European Agenda on Migration, the EU has been putting in place 
various  building  blocks  of  a  fully-fledged  external  migration  policy  complementing  our 
broader external and development engagement. The EU and Member States should continue 
to  work  jointly  and  should  systematically  coordinate  their  actions  through  the  frameworks 
offered  by  the  Partnership  Framework  and  the  Valletta  process,  in  order  to  consolidate  the 
progress  made  towards  a  joint  management  of  migration  flows  with  countries  of  origin  and 
transit. 

Over one year of the implementation of the Partnership Framework shows that the approach 
has  fostered  action  in  partner  countries  to  reform  their  migration  management  systems  and 
tackle  smuggling  more  effectively  but  has  not  yet  fully  delivered  enhanced  cooperation  on 
returns. Moving forward requires an additional investment in a number of areas.  

The  resources  of  the  EU  Trust  Fund  for  Africa,  and  in  particular  its  North  Africa  window, 
should  be  further  strengthened  through  additional  Member  States'  funding.  As  the  EU 
Trust Fund for Africa will expire in 2020, in the context of the discussion for the next Multi 
Annual  Financial  Framework  of  the  Union,  consideration  should  be  given  to  the  most 

21 

 
 
 
 
appropriate solution for ensuring effective financing for the external migration policy. Also, 
the resources for CSDP missions needs to be further supported including with the necessary 
resources to fill any gaps in deployments. 

Achieving better results on return and readmission demands  addressing more systematically 
and effectively non-cooperation by key third countries of origin, mobilising all the incentives 
and leverages available, both at EU and at Member State level. This implies broadening the 
range  of  EU  policies  that  contribute  to  this  effort,  for  instance  offering  legal  pathways  for 
regular  migration  through  pilot  projects  at  EU  level  or  reinforcing  support  for  the 
reintegration.  In  parallel  to  formal  negotiations  the  EU  will  continue  pursuing  informal 
arrangements, such as standard operating procedures. In cases of persistent non-cooperation, 
the  initiative  of  Member  States  to  coordinate  their  response  with  visa  measures,  as  needed, 
within the current visa rules, may provide additional leverage.  

Responding  to  the  rising  migratory  pressure  along  the  Central  Mediterranean  route  has 
become  a  focal  point  of  action  also  within  the  Partnership  Framework.  Work  is  ongoing  to 
ensure effective follow up to the strategy set out in the Joint Communication on "Migration 
on the Central Mediterranean route" of January 2017 and to the actions set out in the Malta 
Declaration of February 2017 and in the Commission Action Plan of July 2017.33 Multilateral 
initiatives  such  as  the  Contact  group  for  the  Mediterranean  and  the  Paris  meeting  of  28 
August have reinforced the ongoing work to regain control of the migratory flows along the 
route.  

To  consolidate  the  results  achieved  so  far,  the  EU  will  further  step  up  all  the  necessary 
initiatives  to  provide  a  response  to  the  migrants  stranded  in  Libya,  focusing  on  their  most 
immediate  needs  notably  addressing  the  dire  situation  in  migrant  detention  centres,  in 
particular by:  

  scaling  up  the  work  being  done  through  UNHCR  and  the  International  Organisation 
for Migration to protect and assist migrants; improve living conditions of those held in 
detention;  increase  access  of  most  vulnerable  migrants  to  protection;  promote 
alternatives  to  detention  including  by  creating  dedicated  accommodation  for 
vulnerable persons;  

  developing  new  projects  under  the  EU  Trust  Fund  for  Africa,  targeting  local 
municipalities and promoting socio-economic opportunities for local communities;  
  stepping up work to progressively reduce the number of migrants stranded in Libya, 
by  further  accelerating  work  with  the  International  Organisation  for  Migration  on 
assisted  voluntary  returns  and  with  UNHCR  by  supporting  plans  for  a  temporary 
evacuation mechanism; 

  strengthening  the  Libyan  authorities'  capacity  to  control  the  Southern  border  of  the 

country and stepping up cooperation with neighbouring countries.  

In  this  context,  the  EU  will  continue  to  support  the  United  Nations  in  working  towards  a 
political  solution  in  Libya  as  only  stability  and  peace  can  create  the  long  term  conditions 
necessary to achieve a sustainable management of migratory flows. 

33 SEC(2017), 4 July 2017. 

22 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
The upcoming African Union-EU Summit in Abidjan will be a good occasion to take stock of 
common  challenges  with  Africa  including  in  the  field  of  migration,  strengthening  our  long 
standing partnership across a wide variety of fields and focusing in particular on youth. 

The work under the Partnership Framework will be a crucial contribution to the discussions at 
the  Global  level  to  follow  up  the  New  York  Declaration  adopted  at  the  United  Nations 
General  Assembly  in  September  2016.  The  EU  will  closely  coordinate  with  Member  States 
and use all its political and diplomatic impulse to achieve an ambitious UN Global Compact 
for  Safe,  Orderly  and  Regular  Migration  and  the  development  of  the  Global  Compact  for 
Refugees and the Comprehensive Refugee Response Framework with pilot countries. 

4.   Conclusion 

The  European  Agenda  on  Migration  adopted  in  2015  put  in  place  the  framework  to  take 
forward better migration management in all its aspects. It has shaped the Union's response to 
the  crisis  situation  and  provided  a  solid  framework  for  structural  changes  needed  in  our 
migration and asylum systems. 

The  Commission  considers  that  regular  monitoring  and  reporting  is  an  effective  way  to 
stimulate  delivery.  To  reinforce  this  approach  the  Commission  will  present  a  regular, 
consolidated report on progress achieved covering all dimensions of the European Agenda on 
Migration. 

If we do not seize the opportunity presented by the stabilisation measures now in place, we 
risk  jeopardizing  what  has  been  achieved  so  far  and  being  trapped  in  a  permanent  state  of 
crisis management. Now is therefore the time for all to redouble our joint efforts to secure a 
more stable framework for the future. 

23