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European Refugee Fund 2008-2013: funding

2009/0026(COD)

PURPOSE: to amend Decision No 573/2007/EC establishing the European Refugee Fund for the period 2008-2013 in order to take account of the creation of the European Asylum Support Office.

PROPOSED ACT: Decision of the European Parliament and of the Council.

BACKGROUND: the European Refugee Fund (ERF) was set up by Decision No 573/2007/EC for the period 2008 to 2013 as part of the General programme "Solidarity and Management of Migration Flows". Its general objective is to support and encourage the efforts made by the Member States in receiving refugees and displaced persons, by co-financing specific actions.

The proposal for a Regulation establishing the European Asylum Support Office and this proposal to amend the Decision establishing the ERF 2008-2013 are part of the European Union's efforts to develop a comprehensive asylum policy. They are a response to the requests from the Council and the European Council for the creation of an asylum support structure and form part of the measures announced by the Policy Plan on Asylum adopted by the Commission in June 2008.

The Office's institutional status will be that of a regulatory agency, and will be responsible for promoting and enhancing practical cooperation between Member States on asylum matters and for helping to support the implementation of the common asylum system. Much of its funding will therefore come from a heading in the general budget of the European Communities.

In order to supplement the funds allocated to the operation of the Office, and in the interests of simplifying the use of Community funds, and because the European Asylum Support Office will be responsible for some of the tasks currently funded under the ERF, it is necessary to transfer some of the budgetary resources currently allocated to the ERF to the Office, in order to ensure the optimal financing of practical cooperation on asylum matters.

IMPACT ASSESSMENT: the proposal does not include an impact assessment.

CONTENT: the proposed measures seek to amend the Decision establishing the European Refugee Fund for the period 2008 to 2013 in order to achieve a better allocation and concentration of funds between the ERF and the new European Asylum Support Office, in the interests of simplifying the use of Community funds.

The proposal to amend the Decision establishing the ERF aims first to reduce the scope of the Community actions provided for in Article 4 of the ERF Decision in order to take account of the transfer of two tasks which will in future be entirely the responsibility of the Office:

  1. those referred to in Article 4(2)(a) relating to further Community cooperation in implementing Community law and good practices, including interpretation and translation services supporting such cooperation;
  2. those in Article 4(2)(f), supporting the development and application by Member States of common statistical tools, methods and indicators for measuring policy developments in the field of asylum.

Reduction of the ERF’s budget: in order to take account of the reduction in the scope of these Community actions, the percentage of funds allocated to the ERF for Community actions, currently 10%, will be reduced to 4% per year from 2010, and the remainder will be available under heading 3A of the financial framework for allocation to the new Office under the annual budgetary procedure, as a contribution towards its funding.

The proposal also provides for a reduction in the financial envelope for implementing the ERF Decision to free up resources towards the funding of the Office. The amount of EUR 628 million, referred to in Article 12(1) of the ERF Decision, will therefore be reduced to EUR 614 million (the new amount taking into account both the EUR 10 million increase decided by the budgetary authority in the 2009 budget and the EUR 24 million cut resulting from the reduction in the scope of the Community actions).

The proposal to amend the ERF Decision does not alter the general objectives of the ERF.

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS: the new amounts allocated to the ERF in commitments are as follows:

  • 2010: EUR 92.750 million;
  • 2011: EUR 104.030 million;
  • 2012: EUR 104.030 million;
  • 2013: EUR 122.830 million.

This totals EUR 423.640 million from 2010 to 2013 (for details of the previous amounts of the ERF, please refer to the financial statement relating to the ERF 2008-2013).