2014 on the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund and the instrument for financial support for police cooperation, crime, crisis management - Main contents

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dossier	COM(2022)112 - Amending regulations 514/2014, 516/2014 on the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund and the instrument for financial ...
document	COM(2022)112
date	March 8, 2022

(1) The invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation on 24 February 2022 led to a mass influx of displaced persons from Ukraine to several Member States. This places renewed pressure on the financial resources of Member States to deal with urgent migration, border management and security needs. Taking into account the nature and dimension of the crisis, these unforeseen needs will persist beyond 2022.

(2) Since 1 January 2014 the Union’s Home Affairs policy for migration, border management and security has been supported by funding from the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund ¹³ and the Internal Security Fund insofar as it concerns the instrument for financial support for external borders and visa, ¹⁴ as well as the Internal Security Fund insofar as it concerns the instrument for financial support for police cooperation, preventing and combating crime, and crisis management (the “Home Affairs Funds 2014-2020”).

(3) It is necessary to extend the implementation period of the Home Affairs Funds 2014-2020 by one year, to allow the Member States to fully use any unspent funds from these programmes, and, if necessary, to swiftly revise the implementation of their programmes as needed to address the unforeseen challenges arising from the invasion of Ukraine.

(4) It is also necessary to provide for more flexibility in the use of earmarked resources under Regulation (EU) No 516/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council that currently prevents unspent funds of the 2014-2020 programming period from being used for actions to address pressing needs arising from the invasion of Ukraine.

(5) Regulation (EU) No 514/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council ¹⁵ lays down general rules for the implementation of the Home Affairs Funds 2014-2020 with regard to, inter alia, the financing of expenditure and the implementation period, that limits the eligibility of Member States’ disbursements to 30 June 2023 at the latest, and sets the closure of the implementation period on 31 December 2023.

(6) As of 1 January 2021, under the Multiannual Financial Framework for 2021-2027, a renewed package of Funds in the area of migration and border management entered into application in the form of the new Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund, ¹⁶ the Instrument for Financial Support for Border Management and Visa Policy ¹⁷ and the Internal Security Fund ¹⁸ (the “Home Affairs Funds 2021-2027”).

(7) Although the Home Affairs Funds 2021-2027 entered into force on 15 July 2021, and became applicable on 1 January 2021, the programmes of the Member States have not [as of the adoption date of this present Regulation,] yet been approved.

(8) In order to ensure continuity in the implementation of the policy objectives of the Home Affairs Funds 2014-2020 and 2021-2027, as well as to allow for a smooth transition between the programming period for 2014-2020 and that for 2021-2027, thereby minimising the administrative burden for Member States, it is necessary for some overlap to exist between the implementation of the respective funding instruments.

(9) This necessity is expressly recognised by the legal bases of the Home Affairs Funds 2021-2027 and Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 ¹⁹ , which allow for retroactive eligibility of expenditure as of 1 January 2021.

(10) Despite those provisions to help bridge the gap between the funding instruments, the end date of the implementation of the Home Affairs Funds 2014-2020 and the anticipated dates for approval of the programmes under the Home Affairs Funds 2021-2027 risk exposing the Member States to a considerable funding gap. This may result in ensuing liquidity problems due to the additional pressure on their migration and border management activities following the mass influx of displaced persons from Ukraine.

(11) The risk is exacerbated by the fact that the HOME Affairs Funds 2014-2020 follow a shorter cycle for implementing budgetary commitments (the N+2 rule) that is not aligned to other EU funding instruments in shared management, such as Cohesion Funds, where a longer implementation period (N+3) applies. This N+3 rule ²⁰ will apply to the HOME Affairs Funds 2021-2027 as set out in Regulation (EU) 2021/1060 for the period 2021-2027.

(12) Due, in part, to reasons outside the control of the Member States, such as implementation delays caused by the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020-2021, available data on the state of play of implementation by Member States indicate a high risk of decommitting funds, that could otherwise be used to address newly arisen needs. Meanwhile, extending the deadline for implementing funds by one year would make it possible for Member States to make full use of the budgetary commitments within the 2014-2020 programmes to address the challenges they are now facing due to events in Ukraine.

(13) Regulation (EU) No 514/2014 recognises that, in the light of new or unforeseen circumstances, at the initiative of the Commission or the Member State concerned, an approved national programme may be re-examined and, if necessary, revised for the rest of the programming period. Pursuant to this, it should be appropriate to consider the war in Ukraine as constituting ‘new or unforeseen circumstances’ to justify a re-examination and operational re-direction of the programme’s implementation, in the light of these new needs and within the specific objectives of the previously adopted programme.

(14) In order to grant Member States continued access to unspent amounts under the Home Affairs Funds 2014-2020, it is necessary to extend the eligibility period of those funds by one year, and to make the necessary related adjustments to the dates applicable to the implementation, reporting, evaluation and closure of the programmes, as well as the dates related to decommitted amounts.

(15) To ensure that the extension of the eligibility period is introduced in the clearest way possible, it is necessary to establish one final key date by which expenditure must be both incurred and disbursed.

(16) Regulation (EU) 2018/2000 of 12 December 2018 ²¹ amended Regulation (EU) No 516/2014 to unblock access to resources earmarked for the transfer or applicants and beneficiaries of international protection and to allow their use for certain other actions under the national programme. It is necessary to extend this principle of flexibility to address pressing needs in the light of new or unforeseen circumstances, particularly to address the new asylum and migration management needs of Member States arising from the invasion of Ukraine.

(17) In order to unblock access to all available funds and avoid their loss through decommitment of unused resources previously earmarked for certain specific purposes under Regulation (EU) No 516/2014, including resources for specific actions and for the Union Resettlement programme, it is necessary to offer Member States flexibility to exceptionally use these resources in the light of new or unforeseen circumstances, such as those arising as a result of the invasion of Ukraine.

(18) To enhance the scope of available funding sources to help deal with unforeseeable future events, it is appropriate to provide Member States and other public or private donors with the possibility, under the 2021-2027 programming period, to make additional financial contributions to asylum and migration management, in the form of external assigned revenue. This external assigned revenue will constitute a dedicated contribution from Member States and other public or private donors to finance specific items of expenditure under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Funds for 2021-2027, and will allow an added preparedness measure for funding asylum and migration activities in Member States during crises such as those arising from the invasion of Ukraine.

(19) The support provided under the AMIF should be complementary notably to actions financed under other Union Funds, in particular under cohesion policy, to maximise the impact of available funding

(20) Regulation (EU) No 514/2014 and Regulation (EU) No 516/2014 should therefore be amended accordingly.