Legal provisions of COM(2018)719 - Amendment of Regulation 516/2014 (AMIF), as regards the re-commitment of funds for the implementation of Council Decisions 2015/1523 (Italy and Greece) and 2015/1601 (Turkey)

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dossier COM(2018)719 - Amendment of Regulation 516/2014 (AMIF), as regards the re-commitment of funds for the implementation of Council Decisions ...
document COM(2018)719 EN
date December 12, 2018

Contents

Article 1

Regulation (EU) No 516/2014 is amended as follows:

(1)Article 18 is amended as follows:

(a)the heading is replaced by the following:

‘ Resources for the transfer of applicants for international protection or of beneficiaries of international protection ’;

(b)in paragraph 1, the words ‘beneficiary of international protection’ are replaced by the words ‘applicant for international protection or beneficiary of international protection’;

(c)paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:

‘3.   The additional amounts referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be allocated to the Member States for the first time in the individual financing decisions approving their national programme in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 14 of Regulation (EU) No 514/2014 and later in a financing decision to be annexed to the decision approving their national programme. Recommitments of those amounts to the same action under the national programme or transfers of those amounts to other actions under the national programme shall be possible where duly justified in the revision of the relevant national programme. An amount may only be recommitted or transferred once. The Commission shall approve the recommitment or transfer through the revision of the national programme.

In respect of amounts stemming from the provisional measures established by Council Decisions (EU) 2015/1523 (*1) and (EU) 2015/1601 (*2), with a view to enhancing solidarity and in accordance with Article 80 TFEU, Member States shall allocate at least 20 % of those amounts to actions under the national programmes for the transfer of applicants for international protection or of beneficiaries of international protection, for resettlement or other ad hoc humanitarian admissions, as well as for preparatory measures for the transfer of applicants for international protection following their arrival in the Union, including arrival by sea, or for the transfer of beneficiaries of international protection. Such measures shall not include any measures related to detention. Where a Member State recommits or transfers resources below that minimum percentage, it shall not be possible to transfer the difference between the recommitted or transferred amount and the minimum percentage to other actions under the national programme.

(*1)  Council Decision (EU) 2015/1523 of 14 September 2015 establishing provisional measures in the area of international protection for the benefit of Italy and of Greece (OJ L 239, 15.9.2015, p. 146)."

(*2)  Council Decision (EU) 2015/1601 of 22 September 2015 establishing provisional measures in the area of international protection for the benefit of Italy and Greece (OJ L 248, 24.9.2015, p. 80).’;"

(d)the following paragraphs are inserted:

‘3a.   For the purpose of Article 50(1) of Regulation (EU) No 514/2014, where amounts stemming from the provisional measures established by Decisions (EU) 2015/1523 and (EU) 2015/1601 are recommitted to the same action under the national programme or transferred to other actions under the national programme in accordance with paragraph 3 of this Article, the amounts concerned shall be considered to have been committed in the year of the revision of the national programme that approves the recommitment or transfer in question.

3b.   By way of derogation from Article 50(1) of Regulation (EU) No 514/2014, the deadline for the decommitment of the amounts referred to in paragraph 3a of this Article shall be extended by a period of six months.

3c.   The Commission shall report annually to the European Parliament and to the Council on the application of this Article.’;

(e)paragraph 4 is replaced by the following:

‘4.   To effectively pursue the objectives of solidarity and fair sharing of responsibility between the Member States referred to in Article 80 TFEU, and within the limits of available resources, the Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 26 of this Regulation to adjust the lump sum referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, taking into account in particular the current rates of inflation, relevant developments in the field of transfer of applicants for international protection and of beneficiaries of international protection from one Member State to another and in the field of resettlement and other ad hoc humanitarian admission, as well as factors which can optimise the use of the financial incentive brought by the lump sums.’;

(2)in the heading and the introductory wording of Article 25, the words ‘beneficiaries of international protection’ are replaced by the words ‘applicants for international protection or of beneficiaries of international protection’.

Article 2

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

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in the Member States in accordance with the Treaties.