COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union concerning the position of the Council on the adoption of a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund
Date: 2021-06-21
Institutions: Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission
Subjects: EU migration policy, EU visa policy, aid to refugees, area of freedom, security and justice, cross-border cooperation, external border of the EU, fund (EU), migration control, return migration, right of asylum

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   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 21.6.2021  COM(2021) 325 final 2018/0248 (COD)  COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT  pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union  concerning the position of the Council on the adoption of a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund  
 
 
2018/0248 (COD) 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

pursuant to Article 294(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union 

concerning the 

position of the Council on the adoption of a Regulation of the European Parliament and 
of the Council establishing the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund 

1. 

BACKGROUND 

Date of transmission of the proposal to the European Parliament and 
to the Council (document COM(2018) 471 final – 2018/0248 COD): 

13 June 2018 

Date the European Economic and Social Committee adopted its  
Opinion on the proposal: 

Date of the position of the European Parliament, first reading: 

Date of adoption of the partial general approach of the Council: 

Date of adoption of the general approach of the Council: 

Date of sixth Trilogue where provisional political agreement on key 
political points was reached: 

Date of the adoption of the position of the Council: 

17 October 2018 

13 March 2019 

7 June 2019 

12 October 2020 

9 December 2020 

14 June 2021 

2. 

OBJECTIVE OF THE PROPOSAL FROM THE COMMISSION 

In  the  context  of  the  2021-2027  Multiannual  Financial  Framework,  the  Commission 
submitted  its  proposal  for  a  Migration  and  Asylum  Fund  (“AMF”)  to  provide  renewed  and 
reinforced  support  to  the  efficient  management  of  migration  by  the  Member  States.  The 
proposal  aimed at  significantly  reinforcing the overall Union budget  for the management  of 
migration and external borders. 

The  Fund’s  objective  is  to  contribute  to  a  robust  and  fair  EU  migration  policy.  The  Fund 
primarily addresses the internal needs of EU Member States but also acknowledges, and can 
operate subject to appropriate safeguards, needs beyond the EU’s external border. Through its 
range of implementing modalities, it can support actions outside the EU through international 
organisations,  eligible  entities  established  in  third  countries  (e.g.  NGOs)  or  with  third 
countries that meet the eligibility criteria to become associated to the Fund.  

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The  Fund  will  ensure  that  the  EU  continues  to  fulfil  its  obligations  to  those  in  need  of 
international  protection,  by  supporting  the  resettlement,  humanitarian  admission  and 
integration of eligible asylum seekers and migrants. The Fund can also facilitate the dignified 
return of those persons who have no right to stay in the EU and support solutions that replace 
irregular migration, with safe and well-managed pathways for legal migration.  

As identified during the previous programming period, greater flexibility in the management of 
the preceding fund was needed to better support its objectives. While providing such flexibility, 
the  proposal  for  the  new  Fund  also  ensured  that  funding  will  be  steered  towards  Union 
priorities  and  actions  with  a  significant  benefit  to  the  Union.  New  mechanisms  for  the 
allocation  of  funding  for  shared,  direct  and  indirect  management  were  therefore  proposed  to 
address changing operational challenges and priorities.  

3. 

COMMENTS ON THE POSITION OF THE COUNCIL 

The  position  of  the  Council  as  adopted  in  the  first  reading  fully  reflects  the  political 
agreement  reached  between  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  and  the  Commission,  as 
concluded on 9 December 2020.  

The main points of this agreement were:  

Name  of  the  Fund:  The  Fund  has  been  renamed  the  “Asylum,  Migration  and  Integration 
Fund” (AMIF), reverting to the name of the preceding fund during the 2014-2020 financing 
period. 

Objectives: A comprehensive policy objective and specific objectives, including the addition 
of a new specific objective on “solidarity and fair sharing of responsibility between Member 
States”.  

Budget:  The  financial  envelope  was  aligned  with  the  amounts  agreed  for  the  2021-2027 
Multiannual  Financial  Framework,  i.e.  EUR  9.9  billion  in  current  prices.  The  thematic 
facility’s share of the total financial envelope was reduced from 40% to 36.5%. Moreover, the 
Commission’s proposal on the conditionality for receiving additional funding at the mid-term 
review phase was retained. As proposed, a Member State must submit payment applications 
covering at  least  10% of the initial allocation for its programme to  be eligible to  receive an 
additional allocation for its programme in the mid-term review. 

Minimum funding percentages: Minimum  percentages  for the allocation of funds towards 
the specific objectives were introduced, as follows:   

(a)  At  least  15%  of  the  resources  to  Member  State  programmes  allocated  to  the 

specific objective on Common European Asylum System (“CEAS”);   

(b)  At  least  15%  of  the  resources  to  Member  State  programmes  allocated  to  the 

specific objective on legal migration, integration and social inclusion;  

(c)  At least 20% of the resources of the thematic facility allocated to the specific 

objective on solidarity and responsibility sharing;  

(d)  At least 5% of the initial allocation of the thematic facility to target local and 

regional authorities implementing integration measures.  

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Member States may deviate from  the minimum funding percentages in  their programmes in 
duly justified cases. 

Scope of support:  The eligible actions listed in Annex  III (Scope of Support) to  the AMIF 
will be managed as follows: 

(a)  Annex  III  remains  a  non-exhaustive  list  of  actions  (“open  list”)  for  the 

purposes of the programmes drawn up by Member States;  

(b)  Annex III, with the exception of emergency assistance, becomes an exhaustive 
list  of  actions  (“closed  list”)  for  the  purposes  of  the  thematic  facility’s  work 
programmes. The Commission can add actions to Annex III using a delegated 
act. 

Third countries and the external dimension of the Fund: Agreement was reached on the 
basis of the following:  

(a)  Further safeguards included for actions in and in relation to third countries (e.g. 
Member State projects in or in relation to third countries need prior approval of 
the  Commission  and  eligible  entities  established  in  third  countries  may  only 
receive  funding  if  they  are  part  of  a  consortium  with  at  least  one  entity 
established in a Member State);  

(b)  Only third countries that have concluded an agreement with the Union on the 
criteria  and  mechanisms  for  establishing  the  State  responsible  for  examining 
asylum applications can be associated to the Fund under a specific agreement 
regulating said participation;  

(c)  While  actions  in  or  in  relation  to  third  countries  remain  possible,  new 
provisions highlight the internal nature of the Fund and that programmes must 
primarily serve internal Union policy.  

Adoption procedures for implementing acts:  work programmes of the thematic facility to 
be  adopted  by  implementing  acts  under  the  examination  procedure  (with  the  “no  opinion 
clause”). The faster procedure of immediately applicable implementing acts was included for 
emergency assistance. The adoption of the template for the annual performance report will be 
adopted through an implementing act subject to the advisory procedure. 

Operating  support:    The  percentage  of  the  allocation,  which  may  go  to  operating  support, 
was increased to 15 % (from 10 % in the Commission proposal) and extended to cover actions 
under all specific objectives. 

Resettlement, humanitarian admission and relocation: The fixed amounts to be granted to 
Member States were agreed, as follows:  

(a)  EUR  10 000  was  maintained  for  each  person  admitted  through  resettlement, 

including their family members;  

(b)  EUR  6 000  was  introduced  for  each  person  admitted  through  humanitarian 
admission. This amount to be increased to EUR 8,000 for vulnerable persons. 
Their family members may also be eligible; 

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(c)  EUR  10 000  maintained  for  each  applicant  for/beneficiary  of  international 
protection  transferred  from  one  Member  State  to  another,  including  their 
family  members;  (a  more  simple  approach  of  single  payments  for  relocations 
was also agreed);  

(d)  The Commission may adjust the above amounts through delegated acts to take 

account of inflation rates and developments in the relevant fields.  

International  organisations:  New  provisions  on  the  audit  and  control  of  international 
organisation were integrated in the text. 

Performance  indicators:  Result  and  output  indicators  in  Annexes  V  and  VIII  were 
streamlined. 

Retroactivity: Retroactivity provisions were included to take into account that the act would 
not be adopted before the end of 2020. 

Criteria for allocation of funding to the programmes: agreement on Annex I to the AMIF 
was reached on the: 

(a) 

Initial allocation addressing insular societies, the overall weighted distribution 
between  asylum,  legal  migration  and  integration  and  irregular  migration  and 
return, and the sub-criteria for asylum and legal migration and integration;   

(b)  Weighted distribution of the sub-criteria for irregular migration on the basis of 
70%  in  proportion  of  third  country  nationals  who  are  subject  to  a  return 
decision and 30% in proportion to those who have actually left the territory; 

(c) 

Introduction of a reporting baseline.  

Overall, the agreement reached preserves the objectives of the original Commission proposal, 
although the agreed position offers slightly less flexibility and less  simplification than what 
was  initially  proposed.  The  agreement  maintains  the  same  level  of  ambition  as  the  initial 
proposal and provides a workable legal base for the implementation of the Fund’s objectives.  

The  Commission  signalled  in  the  last  political  trilogue  on  9  December  2020  that  it  could 
accept elements agreed between the European Parliament and the Council for the purposes of 
reaching an overall final agreement. 

4. 

CONCLUSION 

The Commission accepts the position taken by the Council. 

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