52015DC0510

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 14.10.2015

COM(2015) 510 final

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL AND THE COUNCIL

Managing the refugee crisis: State of Play of the Implementation of the Priority Actions under the European Agenda on Migration

I. Introduction

In the first nine months of the year, over 710,000 people 1 – refugees, displaced persons and other migrants – have made their way to Europe, a trend which is set to continue. This is a test for the European Union. The European Agenda on Migration presented by the Commission in May 2015 2 set out the need for a comprehensive approach to migration management. Since then, a number of important measures have been introduced – including the adoption of two emergency schemes to relocate 160,000 people in clear need of international protection from the Member States most affected to other EU Member States. The ongoing refugee crisis, however, requires further, immediate action.

For this reason, on 23 September, the European Commission detailed a set of priority actions to implement the European Agenda on Migration to be taken within the next six months 3 . This included both short term actions to stabilise the current situation as well as longer term measures to establish a robust system that will bear the test of time.

The list of priority actions set out the key measures immediately required in terms of: (i) operational measures; (ii) budgetary support and (iii) implementation of EU law.

The list was endorsed by the informal meeting of Heads of State and Government of 23 September 2015 4 .

Three weeks later, this Communication sets out the ongoing progress in implementing the priority actions (see Annex 1). The European Council this week provides an opportunity for Heads of State or Government to make a clear and unambiguous commitment to starting a new phase in the EU's response to the refugee crisis: one of swift and determined implementation.

II. Operational Measures

Effectively managing the pressure of migratory flows on some parts of the shared external Schengen border requires both responsibility and solidarity on the part of all Member States. The rapid roll-out of the 'hotspot' approach is providing support to the most affected Member States to ensure the proper reception, identification and processing of arrivals. In parallel, the measures proposed by the Commission and adopted by the Council to relocate 160,000 people in clear need of international protection. This will allow for a significant, if partial, reduction of the pressure on the most affected Member States. It is of crucial importance that these parallel measures will now be fully implemented, with the fingerprinting of all migrants, the prompt selection and relocation of asylum applicants and adequate reception capacities, accompanied by steps to prevent secondary movements and the immediate return to the country of relocation of relocated persons found in another Member State. The other essential component is action to secure swift return, voluntary or forced, of people not in need of international protection and who do not therefore qualify for relocation. The priority actions set out by the Commission focused heavily on the operational working of these measures.

II.1 Implementing the 'Hotspot' Approach

Well-functioning and effective migration management at the external borders which are under most pressure is key to restoring confidence in the overall system, and in particular in the Schengen area of free movement without internal border controls. Central to the EU's strategy and credibility is to demonstrate that the migration system can be restored to proper functioning, in particular by using Migration Management Support Teams deployed in 'hotspots' 5 to help Member States under the most intense pressure to fulfil their obligations and responsibilities. For the Support Teams to work they need a strong core of EU Agencies, the closest of cooperation with the authorities in Italy and Greece, and the support of other Member States.

The Commission has sent special envoys to both Italy and Greece to provide practical coordination and support. In Greece, a dedicated team is working under the leadership of the Commission's Director-General of the Structural Reform Support Service, reporting directly to the President. This team has agreed a step-by-step approach to identify the 'hotspots', deploy the Support Teams, start relocations, resume returns, and reinforce the border. The same model of direct, real-time support and coordination is in place in Italy. This intensive, full-time support from the Commission has made a real difference in helping the two Member States to move to the implementation phase of relocation (see Annex 2 and Annex 3).

Both in Greece and in Italy, the Migration Management Support Teams are being set up and coordinated by European Regional Task Forces, following the increased deployment of the Agencies set out in the European Agenda on Migration. Frontex, the European Asylum Support Office (EASO), Europol, and Eurojust all participate 6 . As a result, they can respond immediately to the needs identified in roadmaps presented by Italy and Greece.

However, their work relies heavily on the support of Member States. Frontex and EASO have both launched calls for contributions to request human resources and technical equipment from Member States. In both cases, these calls constitute unprecedented numbers when compared to requests made by the Agencies in the past, reflecting the exceptional nature of the challenges currently faced by the most affected Member States: it is essential that other Member States respond positively, concretely and quickly to these calls.

Frontex's latest call requested 775 additional border guards, screeners, de-briefers, and interpreters – all indispensable tasks for the effective management of the external borders of the European Union. The call was split into 670 officers – mainly for direct support to the 'hotspot' approach in Italy and Greece, covering estimated needs to the end of January 2016 –and 105 guest officers to be deployed at various external land borders of the European Union.

EASO's latest call for over 370 experts is intended to cover the needs in Italy and Greece until the third quarter of 2017. These experts would support the asylum management authorities of the two Member States in the registration process, information tasks related to relocation and the detection of possible fraudulent documents.

The need for personnel and equipment was explicitly recognised at the informal meeting of EU Heads of State or Government in September – with a deadline of November to meet these needs.

However, so far, the commitments made by Member States fall far short of the real needs. As of 8 October, only six Member States 7 have responded to the call for contributions for EASO with 81 experts, out of the 374 needed. So far six Member States 8 have responded to the call from Frontex with 48 border officials. Member States should rapidly submit their contributions to meet the Agencies' needs assessment.

Italy has identified as 'hotspot' areas Augusta, Lampedusa, Porte Empedocle, Pozzallo, Taranto and Trapani (see Annex 5). The first Migration Management Support Team is up and running, in Lampedusa. This builds on a European Regional Task Force set up in June 2015, in Catania, Sicily 9 . The Support Team currently consists of two debriefing teams from Frontex, plus EASO experts both at the 'hotspot' and at a nearby centre used for relocation. Frontex has already deployed 42 guest officers, while EASO has deployed 6 experts.

For the 'hotspot' approach to be effective, an increase in reception capacities is essential, in order to host asylum seekers before they are relocated. There also needs to be adequate capacity to detain irregular migrants before a return decision is executed. Italy has expanded its reception capacities and now has first reception centres in the four identified 'hotspot' areas, capable of housing approximately 1,500 people. Capacity will be expanded to provide for an additional 1,000 places by the end of the year, bringing the overall first reception capacity up to 2,500.

Greece has identified five 'hotspot' areas, in Lesvos, Chios, Leros, Samos and Kos (see Annex 4). The European Regional Task Force is fully operational, based in Piraeus. The first Migration Management Support Team will be based around the 'hotspot' in Lesvos. Frontex has already deployed 53 experts: at present one EASO staff member is permanently stationed in Greece to help organise the deployment of EASO experts.

Greece has expanded its reception capacities and now has seven first reception centres, screening centres and temporary facilities in four of the identified hotspot areas (Lesvos, Chios, Samos and Leros), capable of housing approximately 2,000 people. Capacity is being expanded further 10 .

Part of the reception needs in 'hotspot' areas is linked to the identification and registration of irregular migrants who are not in clear need of international protection, and thus do not qualify for relocation. This requires sufficient capacity to be available with the facilities to prevent irregular migrants absconding.

II.2 Rolling out the Relocation scheme

On 14 September, the Council adopted the Commission's proposal for a Decision 11 to relocate 40,000 people in clear need of international protection from Italy and Greece. This was followed a week later by the Decision 12 , again based on a Commission proposal, to relocate 120,000 people in clear need of international protection from Italy, Greece and other Member States directly affected by the refugee crisis. The Migration Management Support Teams are the tools to ensure that this relocation can happen at the Union's external borders.

Both Decisions require immediate follow up from the EU institutions, the Member States under pressure and the Member States who are committed to hosting relocated people.

On 1 October, the European Commission brought together over 80 delegates from the Member States, the EU Agencies, the International Organisation for Migration and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in a Relocation and Resettlement Forum to take forward practical implementation. Italy and Greece presented their roadmaps for relocation at the Forum – outlining measures in the area of asylum, first reception and return, as well as the steps they would take in the weeks to come to ensure a full roll-out of the relocation scheme.

The first relocations of people in clear need of protection have taken place, but much work is still needed to ensure that a substantial flow of several hundreds of relocations per month quickly follows. All Member States were asked to identify national contact points at home: so far, 21 Member States have identified national contact points 13 . They have also been asked to send liaison officers, if relevant, to Italy and Greece. So far, 22 Member States have dispatched such officers 14 .

An essential part of the relocation chain is that adequate reception capacity exists in the receiving Member States to accommodate the relocated persons. So far, only six Member States have notified this reception capacity they have made available to host relocated people 15 . All Member States should complete this notification by the end of October.

First effective relocation of people in clear need of international protection

On 9 October 2015, a first flight left from Rome taking 19 Eritreans to start a new life in Sweden. Five women and 14 men left from Ciampino airport in the presence of Migration and Home Affairs Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos, Luxembourg Foreign Affairs Minister Jean Asselborn and Italian Minister of the Interior Angelino Alfano. It was an important symbolic moment which marked the start of a new, European approach to the way we treat asylum applications. However, beyond symbolism, relocations now need to become systematic, routine business in Italy and in Greece.

The first flight was the result of intensive preparatory work on the ground by the Italian and Swedish authorities, by Frontex and other EU agencies, by local NGOs, and by the special envoys which the European Commission has deployed. Tireless efforts have ensured that the system is operational, and the necessary registration and processing can be done at each step of the way.

Outreach to the Eritrean community was crucial in ensuring the success of the first exercise. Initially asylum seekers were reluctant to be registered because they did not trust the system. It has taken a lot of effort over the past weeks from the Commission envoys on the ground, working with the UNHCR and local NGOs, to convince the first set of people that they really would be relocated.

Trust in the system is increasing, however, particularly since the first exercise was carried out. There are now queues of people wanting to register in Lampedusa and Villa Sikania. There are over 100 Eritreans already identified as candidates for relocation.

It is now crucial that further relocation exercises follow suit, particularly to avoid a 'bottleneck' of relocation candidates accumulating.

The successful transfer of the first groups of persons under the relocation exercises is an important first step. These exercises now need to be put on a firm and ongoing footing, at a sufficient scale. All Member States should now provide the Commission with their clear commitments as to the number of people they will relocate from now until the end of the year, bearing in mind the urgency of the challenge.

II.3 Resettlement

Resettlement of people in need of international protection directly from third countries both responds to the EU's humanitarian obligations, and provides a safe alternative for refugees as compared to taking the perilous journey to Europe themselves. At the Relocation and Resettlement Forum on 1 October, Member States confirmed the commitments made in July to welcome over 20,000 refugees in the next two years in this way. A Resettlement Workshop on 2 October developed practical solutions to ensure the effective application of resettlement. The first resettlements have now taken place 16 . Member States should now provide the Commission with information on the number of people they will resettle over the next six months, and from where.

II.4 Return and Readmission

A key element in the interlocking mechanisms which make up the EU asylum system is ensuring that those who do not have a right to international protection are effectively returned. At present, far too few return decisions are being implemented in practice and smuggling networks exploit this to attract migrants who are not in need of international protection. The more effective the return system becomes, the less chance that smugglers can persuade people that they will be able to 'slip through the net' if identified as not in need of international protection.

At the October 2015 Justice and Home Affairs Council, Member States endorsed the EU action plan on return proposed by the Commission 17 . The focus is now on swift and effective follow-up.

Italy has recently carried out two return operations – 28 Tunisians were returned from Italy to Tunisia and 35 Egyptians were returned to Egypt. One joint return operation, coordinated by Frontex, is foreseen in October from Italy and two from Greece. The frequency of these operations needs to be increased.

Ensuring effective returns is a core part of the work of the Migration Management Support Teams in 'hotspot' locations.

This also requires efficient systems to be in place inside the EU for issuing and enforcing return decisions. Concrete steps have been taken over the past month to develop a system of integrated return management and to make use of the EU's information exchange systems to include return decisions and entry bans. Member States' return agencies must also be given the necessary resources to perform their role.

Returns can only be implemented if there is an agreement by the countries of origin to readmit the persons concerned. Readmission is an indispensable component of an effective migration policy. Those who return must be readmitted to their countries of origin. This requires a close partnership with third countries, using all available tools at our disposal. Member States and the Commission should work together to find the fine balance of pressure and incentives in their relation with third countries to increase the number of returns. To assist in the process, it has been agreed that Member States deploy European Migration Liaison Officers in eleven countries by the end of 2015, but this deployment has not yet taken place 18 . The High Representative/Vice-President has launched the first high-level dialogues with main countries of origin of irregular migration, and this will be followed up in a variety of broader dialogues with Ethiopia, Somalia, the African Union and the Sahel countries. The immediate priority is to ensure that existing readmission agreements are effectively applied in practice.

Making readmission work: practical cooperation with Pakistan

The EU has a readmission agreement in place with Pakistan since 2012. Given the large numbers involved (see Annex 9) – for many years, Pakistan has been the fourth largest source of non-EU nationals found to be in the EU in an irregular way – this agreement is of particular importance. But the estimate is that only around 54% of Pakistani citizens receiving return decisions in the EU are returned. The effectiveness of the implementation of the Agreement varies significantly amongst Member States. A particular blockage was identified in Greece, resulting from disputes concerning documentation. Dedicated readmission discussions between the Commission, Greece and the Pakistani authorities this month aim to restart the returns process:

Discussions on the application of the EU-Pakistan readmission agreement took place in Athens between Commission, Greek and Pakistani officials;

Contacts between the EU Delegation in Islamabad and the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs took place on the same day;

Commissioner Avramopoulos will travel to Islamabad on 29 October to discuss a joint plan on migration.

The result should be:

A joint understanding on the application of the EU readmission agreement between Greece and Pakistan;

Frontex will carry out a joint return operation for Pakistanis from Greece in November;

The Commission will present an operational action plan for better migration management with Pakistan.

II.5 Other Ways to Support Member States

There are several other opportunities for Member States to call on the support of the EU to provide assistance in border and migration management but which still have not been fully exploited.

Member States can request the deployment of Rapid border intervention teams (RABIT) to provide immediate border guard support in cases of urgent or exceptional migratory pressure. The Commission considers that the circumstances faced by Greece over the last few months have been exactly the circumstances for which the Teams were devised. Neither Greece nor Italy has so far triggered the mechanism.

The EU Civil Protection Mechanism 19 can be activated by a country if it considers itself to be overwhelmed by a crisis. The Mechanism relies on voluntary contributions from Member States (including expertise, equipment, shelter, and medical supplies). Member States were asked last month to notify the Commission of the assets which can be held ready to deploy to help refugees. Only eight Member States 20 have notified that they have – limited – civil protection assets or experts they would be prepared to deploy still this year, should a request be made. The Commission reiterates the need for Member States to support the mechanism with substantial contributions.

The Mechanism has been activated twice in 2015 to assist Hungary 21 , and once to assist Serbia 22 , in responding to the urgent needs caused by an unprecedented inflow of refugees and migrants.

It should also be recalled that the support of Member States through the Frontex Joint Operations TRITON and POSEIDON continues to provide day-by-day support to the management of the external borders, rescuing thousands of migrants and refugees in the process. Currently 17 Member States are providing assets to TRITON, 18 Member States to POSEIDON 23 . However, the assets made available still fall short of what is needed.

Progress Made

First 'hotspot' working in Lampedusa (Italy).

First 'hotspot' in Lesvos (Greece) to be operational in the coming days.

Relocations to other Member States have started.

Migration Management Support Teams are operational.

The first resettlements have taken place.

Frontex supporting return missions

Next Steps

Six 'hotspots' in total to be operational in Italy by the end of the year.

Five 'hotspots' in total to be operational in Greece by the end of the year.

Member States to meet calls for experts and equipment to support the Migration Management Support Teams to allow the Support Teams to be rolled out in full.

Member States to notify how many relocation and resettlement places they will provide, and specify their reception capacity.

Returns to Pakistan from Greece to restart.

Member States to provide adequate resources for Frontex Joint Operations TRITON and POSEIDON.

III. Budgetary Support

Three weeks ago, the Commission committed to reinforcing financial support immediately. Since then, the Commission has proposed amending budgets to increase financial resources devoted to tackling the refugee crisis by an additional €1.7 billion for 2015 and 2016.

This includes:

Additional emergency assistance already in 2015 under the Asylum, Migration and Immigration Fund and the Internal Security Fund-Borders (€100 million) (see Annex 8);

Reinforcement of the three key Agencies by 120 posts (60 posts for FRONTEX, 30 for EASO and 30 for EUROPOL);

Additional funding for the European Neighbourhood Instrument (€300 million) and redeployment of other EU funds so that the EU Trust Fund for Syria can reach at least €500 million this year;

An increase of the funding for Humanitarian Aid of €500 million (€200 million in 2015 and €300 million in 2016) to help refugees directly, notably through UNHCR, the World Food Programme and other relevant organisations to help refugees' essential needs, like food and shelter;

€600 million in additional commitments for 2016 to increase emergency funding on migration issues (€94 million), to support the relocation package (€110 million), increased human and financial resources for FRONTEX, EASO and EUROPOL (about €86 million to assist on returns and in the 'hotspot' areas, as well as reinforcement of the Agencies), and additional funding to help Member States most affected by the refugee crisis (€310 million).

In total this means that the available funding to address the refugee crisis will amount to €9.2 billion in 2015 and 2016.

The European Parliament and the Council have acted swiftly to adopt the changes to the 2015 budget. The Commission has now adopted amendments for the 2016 budget and calls upon the budgetary authority to make a similar commitment to fast-track the 2016 budget.

It is crucial that national spending is now deployed to reinforce the overall European effort in addition to this substantial reinforcement of migration-related spending under the EU budget. This was recognised by the EU Heads of State and Government on 23 September, which highlighted the need for national governments to contribute and match the EU funding in the efforts made to:

Support the urgent needs of refugees through UNHCR, the World Food Programme 24 and other agencies, to reach at least €1 billion. With the EU budget providing €200 million in additional support this year and €300m next year, this requires a commitment of €500 million from national budgets.

Since 23 September, ten Member States 25 have committed to additional contribution, with the total reaching around €275 million. But in reality, over 80% of this has been pledged by only two Member States, the United Kingdom and Germany. This still leaves a shortfall of over €225 million.

Support a substantial increase in the EU's Regional Trust Fund responding to the Syria crisis. The Commission calls on Member States to match the €500 million from the EU budget.

However, despite the fact that Syria is at the core of today's crisis and that this Trust Fund offers a flexible and swift delivery tool, the response so far from Member States has been minimal, with just two Member States, Italy pledging €3 million and Germany pledging €5 million. This leaves an almost total shortfall of €492 million.

Support with national contributions the Emergency Trust Fund for stability and addressing the root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa. The Commission considers that national contributions should match the €1.8 billion EU funding. Again, support committed so far has been negligible, with only three Member States at present, Luxembourg, Germany and Spain, pledging €3 million each. Six Member States 26 have informally confirmed their contributions but without clear figures. Four others 27 have said that it is "very likely" that they will contribute and four 28 are still considering it. Two non-EU countries 29 have informally suggested they might pledge in total around €9 million. This leaves a huge shortfall of €1.791 million.

Financial resources are an indispensable part of how we can both address the immediate plight of refugees and start to tackle the root causes. It is imperative that the shortfall between the needs identified by the European Council and the reality of what just a few Member States have so far pledged is swiftly redressed (see Annex 7).

Progress Made

Adoption by the European Parliament and the Council of the reinforcement of €800 million to support refugees and migration policies in 2015, as proposed by the Commission.

Further reinforcement of €900 million for 2016 now before the budgetary authority.

Next Steps

European Parliament and Council should adopt the changes to the 2016 budget, as proposed by the Commission.

Member States need to complete the pledge of €500 million in support for humanitarian aid to refugees to reach €1 billion.

Member States to match the €500 million funding from the EU budget to the EU Syria Trust Fund and the €1.8 billion in EU funding for the EU Trust Fund for Africa.

In this context, questions have arisen about the treatment under the Stability and Growth Pact of expenditure incurred to manage the refugee crisis. The Commission has confirmed that, if it received a specific request from a Member State, it would examine whether and how this could be accommodated under the existing rules of the Stability and Growth Pact. This includes the flexibility that has been imbedded in the Pact to react to unforeseen circumstances and unusual events.

This assessment would need to be made on a case-by-case basis as part of the analysis of national fiscal documents. It would need to be based on evidence of the net costs incurred, in line with the agreed methodology for applying the Pact.

IV. Implementation of EU Law

The Common European Asylum System is based on helping people in need of international protection and returning migrants who have no right to stay on EU territory. To make this a reality, the EU now has a strong set of common rules on asylum and irregular migration. But these rules have to be properly applied.

One example of the Commission's efforts to promote effective implementation is in the area of return, where the Commission has been helping Member States to understand the consequences of the rules. The Commission has held dedicated dialogues with Member States to highlight steps that need to be taken to meet the obligation to enforce return. Member States should ensure the physical availability of an irregular migrant for return and use detention, as a legitimate measure of last resort, where it is necessary to avoid that irregular migrants abscond. As long as there is a reasonable likelihood of removal, prospects for such removal should not be undermined by a premature ending of detention. Finally, both the swiftness of decision-making, and the availability of staff and sufficient detention capacity, can have a key impact on the practical implementation of return decisions.

Since August, the Commission has sent administrative letters to five Member States concerning the Eurodac Regulation on fingerprinting, and ten concerning the correct implementation of the Return Directive. All Member States concerned replied on the Eurodac Regulation , and the Commission is now assessing the replies to see if they are sufficient or if infringement proceedings should be launched. On the Return Directive, only one response 30 has been received so far: the Commission awaits the remaining responses and will swiftly assess the situation. A further administrative letter has been addressed to one Member State concerning the compliance with the Asylum Procedures Directive, the Reception Conditions Directive and the Schengen Borders Code.

In respect of the decision on 40 potential or actual infringement decisions adopted in September, concerning the Asylum Procedures Directive, the Reception Conditions Directive and the Qualifications Directive, in addition to the 34 cases opened before then, the Commission has not received any responses so far. Given the particular importance of this legislation, Member States are urged to respond as early as possible within the two month period.

The Commission will continue to pursue infringement procedures swiftly and effectively, where necessary, to ensure full compliance with EU legislation in this area (see Annex 6).

The priority actions identified in September stressed the need to devote particular attention to Greece. Member States have not been able to return asylum seekers to Greece since 2010-11. In 2010, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that there had been a number of violations of the European Convention on Human Rights. The European Court of Justice then confirmed that there could be no presumption that Member States respect the fundamental rights of asylum seekers if they return people to Greece under the Dublin system.

As noted above, the Commission has dedicated substantial resources to assisting Greece. Member States are now starting to add to these efforts. Significant progress has been made in a short space of time. With the Migration Management Support Teams up and running, the key deficiencies behind the effective suspension of Dublin transfers are being addressed – with reception facilities being expanded and a return being made to a robust system of asylum processing.

Progress so far has been encouraging and must continue. On this basis, the Commission will assess the situation by 30 November 2015 and if all conditions are met, it will recommend to the European Council in December 2015 or in March 2016 to confirm the reinstatement of Dublin transfers to Greece.

Several Member States have recently invoked the temporary reintroduction of border controls under the Schengen Border Code. This can be justified in exceptional crisis situations and notably for serious threats to public policy or internal security in a given Member State. But it can never be more than a short-term measure before the situation is stabilised.

The Commission is currently finalising its assessment of the situation by adopting an opinion on the prolongation of temporary border controls by Germany, Austria and Slovenia on the basis of the Schengen Border Code.

Progress made

The Commission is addressing deficiencies by Member States in the full transposition and implementation of EU law.

Reception facilities are being expanded and conditions for a correct asylum system and processing are being put in place in Greece.

Next steps

The Commission will ensure active and swift follow-up of all infringement proceedings in asylum and return.

The Commission will assess by 30 November 2015 the situation concerning Dublin transfers to Greece.

V. The External Dimension

The European Agenda on Migration underlined that a successful migration policy must inescapably work outside as well as inside the Union. Europe must always welcome those in need of protection. But it is in everyone's interests that the crises which force refugees to leave their homes and travel in great danger are tackled at their roots.

At the core of the priority actions and the joint Communication of the Commission and the High Representative/Vice-President last month 31 was putting migration at the top of the EU's external concerns. This has been shown through the commitments to extra funding set out above. But the diplomatic offensive now under way has also put migration at the centre of bilateral, regional and multilateral dialogue.

Turkey is a pivotal partner. Together with Lebanon and Jordan, it has borne the brunt of the humanitarian effort to shelter Syrian refugees. Its geographical position makes it the dominant channel for migrants arriving in the Western Balkans. Turkey has shown that it is capable of taking decisive action to combat smuggling. The detailed Action Plan on Migration handed by President Juncker to President Erdoğan on 5 October set out a series of concrete measures covering both support of refugees, migrants, and their hosting communities, as well as strengthening cooperation to prevent irregular migration. It sets out short, medium, and longer term actions. The Commission is now in active discussions with the Turkish authorities in order to finalise the Action Plan.

Cooperation with Turkey was also a key aspect of the High-level Conference on the Eastern Mediterranean – Western Balkans Route convened on 8 October by the High Representative/Vice-President and the Luxembourg Presidency. This meeting agreed a series of practical steps to foster a more effective cooperation with partner countries along the route, including by supporting countries of first asylum and of transit, as well as underlining the broader issues of tackling root causes and fighting smuggling 32 .

The High Representative/Vice-President has been engaged in extensive diplomatic contacts with a view to finding an agreement to the crisis in Libya. These efforts, political and financial, have been deployed in support of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary General, Bernardino Léon, who, on 8 October, presented a final text of the Libyan Political Agreement to all participants in the political dialogue. The focus is now on having this agreement endorsed by the parties, in which case, the EU stands ready with a substantial and immediate package of support to a new government of National Accord that will benefit the Libyan population. The Foreign Affairs Council of 12 October adopted conclusions in this respect.

On 7 October, the EU military operation in the Southern Mediterranean – EUNAVFOR MED Operation Sophia – moved to its second phase in international waters, after having successfully fulfilled the objectives of phase 1 (surveillance and assessment of smuggling and trafficking networks), and contributing to the rescue of more than 3,000 people. It will now be able to conduct boarding, search, seizure and diversion, on the high seas, of vessels suspected of being used for human smuggling or trafficking, and will contribute to bringing suspected smugglers to justice. This represents a key development in disrupting the business model of traffickers/smugglers and received an important political endorsement from UN Security Council Resolution 2240 adopted on 9 October.

Under the chairmanship of the High Representative/Vice-President, the Foreign Affairs Council adopted conclusions on the Syria crisis on 12 October, on the basis of which the EU will enhance the level of its engagement in support of UN-led international efforts to find a political solution to the conflict. The High Representative/Vice-President is actively engaged with all of the key regional and international actors, including Russia, US, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey and Iraq. The EEAS has taken measures to strengthen support to the political opposition inside and outside Syria as a party to a transition process and to continue to facilitate the rapprochement and unification of its numerous political and military segments behind a common strategy. On 7 and 9 September, the EEAS together with the UN Special Envoy, Staffan de Mistura, conducted detailed consultations with mediation practitioners, notably from Russia, Iran, Egypt and Saudi Arabia and Syria envoys from the Member States. The EU is also active in some of the working groups established by the Small Group of the Global Coalition against Da'esh, namely on stabilization, foreign terrorist fighters, counter-financing. Implementation of the EU regional strategy for Syria and Iraq as well as the Da'esh threat is on-going.

Migration was a key theme discussed by representatives of the EU institutions and of the Member States in the 70th United Nations General Assembly at the end of September. In this context, the need for a more proactive response and enhanced engagement by the international community to deal with the challenges of migration and human mobility was stressed, notably with regard to the Syrian refugee crisis.

The EU Action Plan against migrant smuggling presented in May 33 is now being implemented – as well as law enforcement operations both within and outside the EU – for example, campaigns are under way in Ethiopia and Niger to prevent smuggling at the source.

A major focus in the new priority on migration issues in the next month will be the Valletta Summit on Migration (11-12 November). This Summit is the subject of intensive preparation with African partners. It will represent an opportunity to show that both the EU and its African partners can deliver tangible action to address the root causes of irregular migration and to ensure orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration and mobility of people. Fundamental to such partnerships is that the EU must support its partners – with financial assistance, with expertise, with the confidence to work together and demonstrate a common effort. As such, its success is inextricably linked to a joint effort to deliver a major financial commitment to the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (see above under point III).

Progress Made

A series of high-level meetings by the High Representative/Vice-President and Commissioners have given meaning to the new diplomatic offensive on migration.

EUNAVFOR MED operation Sophia fulfilled objectives of phase 1.

Next Steps

Finalising the Action Plan with Turkey.

High level dialogues foreseen by the High Representative/Vice-President with Ethiopia, the African Union and Somalia on 20-21 October.

EUNAVFOR MED operation Sophia implementing its phase 2.

EU to support a new government of National Accord in Libya.

EU to enhance level of engagement in support of UN-led international efforts to find a political solution to the conflict in Syria.

Valletta Summit on Migration.

VI.Conclusion

The operational and budgetary steps set out above are designed to provide the support needed to bring the EU's migration system back into an orderly approach where the rules are properly applied and the system is robust enough to react to the inevitable peaks in migration. An indispensable part of restoring stability is the external border. This is at the heart of the Commission's commitment to bring forward before the end of the year proposals to develop a fully operational European Border and Coast Guard, as a recognition that Member States must be supported more strongly in the challenge of managing Europe's external borders.

Summary of specific conclusions

Member States should rapidly submit their contributions to meet the EU Agencies' needs assessment for the implementation of the "Hotspot" approach;

Italy and Greece should increase their reception capacities;

Member States should notify their reception capacity to host relocated people;

Member States should provide clear commitments as to the number of people they will relocate from now until the end of the year;

Member States should now provide the Commission with information on the number of people they will resettle over the next six months and from where;

Member States should swiftly implement the EU action plan on return proposed by the Commission, for an effective system of return at EU level;

European Migration Liaison Officers should be deployed by the EU in eleven third countries by the end of 2015,

Member States should support the EU Civil Protection Mechanism with substantial contributions;

Member States should make available sufficient assets for Frontex joint operations TRITON and POSEIDON;

Member States should contribute to and match the EU funding in the efforts made to support the UNHCR, World Food Programme and other international organisations, the EU Trust Fund for Syria and the EU Trust Fund for Africa:

The European Parliament and the Council should adopt the draft amending budget for 2016, as proposed by the Commission;

The Commission will continue to pursue swiftly and effectively infringement procedures, where necessary, to ensure full compliance with the acquis in the area of Asylum and Return;

The Commission will assess by 30 November 2015 if all conditions are met to recommend to the European Council in December 2015 or in March 2016 to confirm the reinstatement of Dublin transfers to Greece;

The Commission will finalise its opinion on the prolongation of temporary controls by Germany, Austria and Slovenia on the basis of the Schengen Border Code;

The Commission will finalise the Action Plan with Turkey.

List of Annexes

Annex 1: Follow-up of the Priority Actions

Annex 2: Greece – State of Play Report from11 October 2015

Annex 3: Italy – State of Play Report from 11 October 2015

Annex 4: Map of the 'Hotspots' designated in Greece

Annex 5: Map of the 'Hotspots' designated in Italy

Annex 6: Implementing the Common European Asylum System

Annex 7: Member States' financial pledges since 23 September 2015

Annex 8: Financial Support to Member States under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund and the Internal Security Fund

Annex 9: The functioning of the EU–Pakistan Readmission Agreement 2012-2014

(1)

Frontex figures published on 13 October 2015.

(2)

COM(2015) 240 final.

(3)

COM(2015) 490 final.

(4)

Statement available at http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2015/09/23-statement-informal-meeting .

(5)

A 'hotspot' is a section of the EU external border or a region with extraordinary migratory pressure which calls for reinforced and concerted support by EU Agencies.

(6)

The representatives of these Agencies work together in shared offices, based in ports or specific reception centres, to coordinate the EU assistance to the national authorities in identification, registration and return as well as information and intelligence gathering, sharing and analysis to support criminal investigations of people-smuggling networks.

(7)

Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Romania, Slovakia and Spain.

(8)

Belgium, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Portugal, Romania and Sweden.

(9)

The Task Force involves Frontex, EASO, Europol, the EU naval operation EUNAVFORMED-SOPHIA and the Italian authorities.

(10)

For example, a temporary facility for 300-400 places in Kos by the end of the year.

(11)

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).

(12)

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

(13)

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden.

(14)

From Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Slovakia, Sweden for Italy and Slovenia for both Italy and Greece.

(15)

Austria, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Sweden and Spain.

(16)

132 Syrians staying in neighbouring countries have already been resettled under the scheme agreed on 20 July 2015 to the Czech Republic (16), Italy (96), and Liechtenstein (20).

(17)

COM(2015) 453 final.

(18)

Council conclusions 8 October 2015: "Cooperation with the countries of origin and transit is key to successful return operations. In the short term, the EU will explore the synergies of the EU diplomacy on the ground, through the EU delegations, and in particular through the European Migration Liaison Officers (EMLOs), to be deployed by the end of 2015 to Egypt, Morocco, Lebanon, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Pakistan, Serbia, Ethiopia, Tunisia, Sudan, Turkey and Jordan."

(19)

The Mechanism can mobilise various types of in-kind assistance, including expertise, equipment, shelter, and medical supplies.

(20)

Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, Sweden, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Latvia.

(21)

These requests are now closed.

(22)

This request is still open.

(23)

Malta, Portugal, the Netherlands, France, Norway, Spain, Greece, Poland, Romania, the United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Latvia in the case of TRITON, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Poland, Latvia, Germany, Croatia, the Netherlands, Finland, Italy, France, Spain, Belgium, the United Kingdom and Romania in the case of POSEIDON.

(24)

Four Member States – the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden – rank in the top 10 donors to the World Food Programme in 2015 (source: World Food Programme, 6 October 2015).

(25)

Cyprus, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom.

(26)

Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Malta and the United Kingdom.

(27)

Austria, the Netherlands, Finland and Sweden.

(28)

The Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia and Greece.

(29)

Norway and Switzerland.

(30)

Italy

(31)

JOIN(2015) 40 of 9 September 2015

(32)

This document can be found by following the link : http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2015/10/08-western-balkans-route-conference-declaration/

(33)

COM(2015) 285 final

Top

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 14.10.2015

COM(2015) 510 final

ANNEX

to the

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL AND THE COUNCIL

Managing the refugee crisis: State of Play of the Implementation of the Priority Actions under the European Agenda on Migration

ANNEX 1

FOLLOW-UP OF PRIORITY ACTIONS

State of Play as of 14 October 2015

OPERATIONAL MEASURES INSIDE THE EU

Action taken by Commission and EU Agencies

Action taken by Member States

Next Steps

Implementation of the hotspot approach and the relocation decisions

-On-the-spot coordination:

-Technical meetings organised by the Commission between the Agencies and Italy/Greece.

-Coordination with international organisations active on the ground (IOM and UNHCR) Commission special envoys deployed to Italy and Greece to coordinate on the roll out of the "hotspot" approach and the setting up of relocation.

-Migration Management Support Teams in place:

-Italy: EU Regional Task Force (EURTF), set up in Catania, Frontex Joint Operation Triton, includes screening and debriefing teams to Sicily and Lampedusa, EASO experts deployed on the spot to assist with the provision of information and relocation procedure.

-Greece: establishment of EURTF; Frontex Joint Operation Poseidon, includes screening and debriefing teams to Aegean Islands. EASO experts to be deployed shortly for tasks relating to provision of information and processing of applications.

Agencies

-Frontex teams deployed for screening and debriefing activities carry out their tasks as part of the Joint Operation hosted by the Member State where the hotspot approach is implemented.

-On 02/10/15 both Frontex and EASO launched called for experts and equipment in view of further strengthening the Migration Management Support Teams in both Italy and Greece.

- In Italy, Eurojust supports the Operational Frontex Regional Team (OFRT) in Catania in facilitating mutual legal assistance requests and in coordinating between Member States. In Greece, two Greek prosecutors from the Court of Appeal of Piraeus have been appointed as Eurojust’ Contact Points, keeping Eurojust informed in real time of any need for judicial follow-up and coordination at EU level.

-Contacts with Member States to settle the practical requirements for relocation:

-Commission wrote to all Member States to reiterate the need to nominate liaison officers and to invite Member States to indicate a number of applications for relocation in the near future.

-Bilateral contacts ahead of the first relocation from Italy and Greece.

-Relocation and Resettlement Forum of 01/10/15:

-information provided to Member States on the state of play of the implementation of the Council Decisions on relocation.

-Italy and Greece presented their roadmaps and Member States asked questions of clarification.

-agreement to use the flowchart and operational conclusions of the relocation workshop of 21/09/15 as 'modus operandi' for the implementation of the relocation schemes.

-Commission clarified financial aspects of both relocation and resettlement schemes.

First relocations completed on 9/10/15

Italy

Roadmap presented on 01/10/15 at the Relocation and Resettlement Forum is under implementation.

First Support Teams in place in Lampedusa.

Reception centres in 3 other locations in Sicily are ready and the Support Teams can be expected to work from there shortly.

Office space allocated in Villa Sikania and Catania.

Liaison offices nominated in all relevant national and local government agencies.

Needs assessment for Migration Management Support Teams as regards personnel was submitted in the Roadmap

Italy has requested Frontex to assist it with 10 fingerprinting experts.

Greece

Roadmap presented on 01/10/15 at the Relocation and Resettlement Forum is operational.

Support Teams set up on Lesvos and to be set up on four other islands (Chios, Samos, Kos and Leros), with Frontex being in place on five islands, and EASO experts to be deployed shortly.

Office space for the EURTF allocated in Piraeus at the office of the Frontex Liaison Officer.

Liaison offices nominated in all relevant national and local government agencies.

Needs assessment for Migration Management Support Teams submitted to SCIFA on 5/10/15 and transmitted to the Commission through the Commission Envoys to Greece.

Other Member States

Appointing network of national contact points and sending of liaison officers to Italy and Greece.

20 Member States have appointed contact points; 22 Member States have so far nominated liaison officers in Italy, including 1 Member State who has so far nominated a liaison officer for both Italy and Greece.

Some Member States have indicated to IT/EL/EASO the number of persons they could swiftly relocate.

Response to Agencies' calls

National Experts for Migration Management Support Teams in response to calls from Frontex experts (670 to end January 2016)) and EASO (370 experts to third quarter 2017):

Provided for Italy; (1) Frontex – 18 units of technical equipment (vessels, patrol cars etc.) and 42 guest officers.

Provided for Greece: (1) Frontex – 27 units of technical equipment and deployment of 53 experts (total number of experts deployed at land and sea borders is 95 experts including Greek officials)

-Relocation: Member States to specify before how many relocations they will take by end of the year.

-Revision of the national programmes under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) to allocate to the Member States the additional amounts corresponding to the lump sums for relocated persons to be launched once the pledges of 20/07/15 are officially confirmed by Member States by 30/10/15.

-Support Greece through the AMIF emergency assistance to cover for internal transport costs of registered persons from the Eastern Aegean islands to mainland Greece (AMIF emergency assistance for 5,99 M€ about to be awarded; Grant Agreement under preparation)

-Assess the need of supporting Italy to cover the internal transport costs of registered persons from Lampedusa to mainland Italy.

-Member States to regularly update information on the numbers of persons for swift relocation.

-Member States to complete process of appointing National Contact Points and Liaison Officers.

-Frontex and EASO call for experts:

Responses of Member States to the call of Frontex are awaited by 16/10/15 at the latest.

Support to the Frontex Joint Operation (JO) TRITON and POSEIDON

-JO Triton and Poseidon were gradually reinforced (in conjunction with the implementation of the hotspot approach in Italy and Greece.

-JO Triton: the number of patrolling assets were increased as well as the number of screening and debriefing teams (18 units of technical equipment (vessels, patrol cars etc.) and 42 guest officers)

-JO Poseidon Sea: Frontex has increased the number of assets and of debriefing and screening experts and interpreters (27 units of technical equipment and 53 experts) were deployed. Frontex has offered deploying an additional 104 guest officers and co-finance 31 team leaders from the Hellenic Police.

-An open call for additional contributions covering also the needs of JO Triton and Poseidon was launched by Frontex on 02/10/15.

-The reinforcement of the operational support to Italy and Greece in the framework of Joint Operation Triton and Poseidon Sea, especially stepping up screening and debriefing activities was made possible by the Member States making their resources available.

-JO Triton: 26 Member States and Schengen Associated States participate: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, Slovenia, Spain,United Kingdom. Currently 17 of them present with assets and/or guest officers: MT, PT, NL, FR, NO, ES, EL, PL, RO, UK, DE, DK, CZ, BG, LV,

-JO Poseidon: 25 MS participate (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom) Currently 18 of them present with assets and/or guest officers (DK, CZ, NO, SE, PT, PL, LV, DE, HR, NL, FI, IT, FR, ES, BE, UK, BG, RO)

-Member States commit to maintain or increase the level of support to the ongoing joint operations hosted by Italy and Greece. Accordingly all Member States should respond positively to the call launched by Frontex on 02/10/15.

-Frontex and Greece to implement the additional deployment of guest officers.

Reception capacity and conditions

-Monitoring of and if necessary infringement procedures of reception conditions and capacities.

-IT and EL making efforts to increase reception capacity. IT on track for first reception capacity of 2,500 by end of year, Greece's 2,000 places also being expanded.

-Further guidance to improve standards on reception conditions (EASO)

-All Member States affected by the crisis in particular Greece: start using substantial funding from the European Structural and Investment Funds/European Regional and Development Fund/European Investment Bank to increase reception capacities.

Return

-First returns under the aegis of a Migration Management Support Team took place on 10/10/15.

-Evaluation of the Schengen Information System so as to include all return decisions and entry bans in the SIS launched on 5/10/15;

-European Migration Liaison Officers (EMLO): concept presented on 15/09/15 included specific return-related functions.

-Setting up a system of integrated return management: process launched between the Commission, the Agencies (Frontex and EASO) and relevant networks, on 15/09/15.

-Schengen evaluations on return systems of AT, BE, DE, NL in 2015, as well as one questionnaire-based evaluation (LI).

-Reaction from Member States confirmed importance of return

-Member States (and Associated States) that are not part of existing networks invited to consider participation or association.

-Recruitment and deployment of the first EMLOs by end 2015.

-Operational follow-up meeting organised by Frontex on 28/10/15.

-Return systems of six Member States to be evaluated in 2016 (IT, EL, LU, FR, MT, HR).

Resettlement

Resettlement and Relocation Forum of 01/10/15:

-UNHCR presented resettlement trends and priorities for 2016 and indicated the areas of cooperation with the States of resettlement.

-IOM presented areas of expertise in the resettlement process and the support it can provide to the resettling States.

-Commission presented guidance note on financial support.

EASO resettlement workshop of 02/10/15:

-UNHCR presented different steps in the resettlement process under their auspices

-IT, NL, SE presented different aspects of their resettlement programmes in view of sharing good practice

-Presentation of EU-FRANK resettlement project to facilitate resettlement and refugee admission through sharing of knowledge

-Presentation by the ICMC on integration practices

-Mapping of the Member States' operational needs in the field of resettlement and identifying operational support measures to meet those needs

-Resettlement and Relocation Forum of 01/10/15:

-All Member States confirmed their commitments of 20/07/15, many of them expressly indicating a close cooperation with UNHCR and IOM in the process.

-All States confirmed respect of the agreed priorities as regards the regions for resettlement. Most will focus on the Syrian refugees hosted in Lebanon, Jordan or Turkey. Some have also indicated they would resettle from other regions, such as the Horn of Africa (Sudan) or North Africa (Egypt).

-Some Member States have already started limited resettlement under the scheme (IT, CZ) while Liechtenstein indicated that it has already fulfilled its commitment by resettling 20 Syrians from Turkey.

-Some Member States indicated the number of persons out of their total commitment they plan to resettle in 2016 and 2017 respectively

-30/10/15, Member States to confirm to the Commission officially the number of persons to be resettled in line with the pledged numbers under the resettlement scheme of 20/07/15.

-On this basis the Commission to revise the national programmes of the Member States under AMIF

-Member States cooperation with UNHCR to identify persons for resettlement.

Migrant smuggling

-Implementation of JOT MARE as main information hub on migrant smuggling, for support of Member States investigations and prosecution of migrant smugglers

-Support to XX investigations and XX joint operations against migrant smuggling in XX Member States

-Deployment of XX by XX Member States to JOT MARE

-Further reinforcement of inter-agency cooperation on migrant smuggling

-Further use of Joint Investigation Teams and Joint Operations in the field of migrant smuggling

Civil Protection

-The Commission wrote to all Member States on 24/09/15 asking them to specify the assets that could be made available, if the mechanism is activated during the refugee crisis.

-Latest coordination meeting on 8/10/15

-19 Member States have so far responded to the letter, 8 of those positively (BE, CY, FI, LT, SE, SK, CZ, LV). Four others (AT, BG, SI, UK) might respond case-by-case.

-Hungary triggered the civil protection mechanism on 18/06/15 and 11/09/15

-Serbia triggered the civil protection mechanism on 21/09/15

-Member States in need can trigger the mechanism.

-Member States contingency planning for what civil protection might be needed on different scenarios; and what assets could be provided.

Rapid Border Intervention Teams (RABIT)

-Frontex sent a letter to the Management Board of the Agency on 18/09/15, stressing its readiness to respond any request for a rapid intervention being submitted by a Member State confronted with a sudden and particular pressure of irregular immigration at the external borders and calling for support for any such interventions as well as for the implementation of the ongoing reinforced joint operations.

-Commission in its Communication on Managing the refugee crisis drew attention to the possibility of triggering the RABIT. mechanism

-13 Member States replied to the letter of the Executive Director.

-No Member States has notified Frontex their willingness to request a rapid intervention until now (as of 07/10/15)

-6 Member States indicated their readiness to deploy human or technical resources which could be deployed still this year [if request made].

-Any Member State facing a situation of urgent and exceptional pressure due to large number of migrants trying to enter the territory illegally, which exceeds the capacity of the Member State concerned may trigger a rapid intervention coordinated by Frontex.

-Frontex to constantly monitor in cooperation with the Member States the development of the situation at the EU external borders especially for those Member States facing specific and disproportionate pressure.

BUDGETARY SUPPORT FOR ACTION INSIDE THE EU

EU Action

Action taken by Member States

Next Steps

Reinforced Financial support to migration management: border controls, asylum systems, reception, return (as included in amending budget 7 2015 and amending letter 2 2016).

- An additional €100 million extra for emergency assistance under the AMIF and the ISF in 2015, in amendment proposed by Commission and fast-tracked by budgetary authority

-The budgetary impact of the second relocation proposal for 120.000 refugees (including transfer costs) totalling € 780 million for 2016, included in the amending letter 2 to be adopted by the Commission on 14/10/15;

-Another Commission proposal for a total of €600 million additional funding for 2016 also included in amending letter 2 , which includes:

-€ 310 million for more structural medium term actions and first reception activities in MS most affected;

-A further € 94 million of additional emergency assistance;

-€ 110 million for the budgetary alignment of the first relocation package (40.000 refugees) with the second;

-additional resources for the agencies (see below).

Ongoing emergency assistance:

-Under AMIF, Austria was awarded emergency assistance of €6,3 million on 5/10, while applications by Hungary, Greece, Germany and Croatia for a total of more than €60 million are still pending

-Under ISF-borders €10,7 million awarded to Greece and France €1.7 million early October. Additional funding requests for a total of more than €8 million for Greece and Croatia is still pending

-Member States (plus 3 Schengen Associated Countries) have designated the Responsible Authorities.

-75% of Member States have established the implementation structure and have started implementing the national programmes.

-Allocation for the national programmes of Italy under AMIF and ISF amounts to around €560 million for the period 2014-2020. First pre-financing payments of approximately €39 million have been made in August 2015. In addition, € 19.12 million have been awarded to Italy in 2015 as emergency assistance.

Allocation for the national programmes of Greece under AMIF and ISF amounts to around €474 million for the period 2014-2020. First pre-financing payments of approximately 33 million€ have been made in mid-September 2015. In addition, €19.5 million (including grant to UNHCR) have been awarded to Greece in 2015 as emergency assistance.

-Member States should use available funding provided through national programmes under AMIF and ISF. In order to do this some Member States still need to designate their responsible authorities.

-Commission to assess the needs for the revision of Member States' programming under AMIF and ISF-borders to check that it is in line with the current situation in areas like reception capacity.

-Commission to be in close contact with Member States most under pressure to finalise the needs assessment and ensure a structured approach (activities, timing) to address their current emergencies through the national programmes and emergency assistance.

-Nine remaining national programmes not yet approved to be adopted by the end of November.

-European Investment Bank Board Meeting in November to discuss special terms for refugee-related projects; needs assessment by end November

Support to EU agencies

-Strengthening of the human resources of the agencies for 2015 and 2016

-60 posts for Frontex,

-30 for EASO,

-30 for Europol.

-€ 50 million to support 2016 Frontex activities in the area of return and € 20 million to strengthen their hotspot operations].

-Support of Member States to Frontex and EASO operations

-Support proposed for 2016 budget

OPERATIONAL AND BUDGETARY MEASURES: EXTERNAL ACTION

	EU Action	Action taken by Member States	Next Steps
Diplomatic offensive on migration	-High Level Conference on the Eastern Mediterranean/Western Balkans Route, Luxembourg, 8/10/15. Five key areas of action identified (in a Declaration): (1) support to Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey; (2) support to transit countries; (3) fighting organized crime/migrant smuggling; (4) addressing root causes; (5) engaging countries of origin of irregular migrants -Turkey – An EU-Turkey Action Plan on Migration was handed over, including measures to support Turkey under the refugee crisis and to reduce irregular departures. -.	-Germany has announced the setting up of a high-level dialogue on migration with Turkey.	High Level Conference - Using existing bilateral and regional frameworks for dialogue and cooperation; - Agreeing action plans for implementation; - Cooperation with UN and other international organisations; - EU-Western Balkans JHA Ministerial Forum.(by end-2015);); Monitoring: Senior officials' meeting (SOM) in early 2016 - on the implementation of the Conference Declaration. Valletta Summit 11-12/11/15 -Political Declaration and Action Plan -Follow-up of actions in terms of targeted assistance, legal migration, countering smuggling and tangible progress on return/readmission -Member States to contribute to Emergency Trust Fund for stability and addressing root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa EU – Africa: - HRVP to visit Ethiopia and African Union Commission (20/10/15) to launch High Level Dialogue on Migration. To include commitment to launch Common Agenda on Migration and Mobility, Ethiopia-specific migration activities, enhanced cooperation on returns. -HRVP to attend the next Ministerial of the Sahel countries -Implementation of migration pillar of EU Regional Action Plan for the Sahel 2015-2020. Turkey: -Action Plan – to be finalised.
Readmission to third countries	-Setting up of a Readmission Capacity Building Facility (under AMIF Annual Work Programme 2015)	-	-Member States to propose projects for possible funding under the facility, also to devote. resources for assisted voluntary return -Identification of specific projects to enhance cooperation on readmission with key partners. Ensure availability of sufficient financial support for reintegration and return action in third-countries
	-Readmission workshop with ACP countries took place in Brussels (28-29/09/15).	-Member State participation in workshop.	-Setting up of national contact points on readmission in the EU-ACP countries
	-Designation of EU Migration Liaison Officers (EMLOs).	-General agreement on ToR for the European Migration Liaison Officers that are about to be deployed to EU delegations in key countries	-Preparations for the potential deployment of European Migration Liaison Officers to Egypt, Lebanon, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Pakistan, Serbia, Ethiopia, Tunisia, Sudan, Turkey and Jordan (preparation of vacancy notices, selection procedure,
			actual deployment).
	-Bilateral meetings covering readmission with Sub-Saharan and/or other countries of origin -G5 Sahel – 17/06/15 -Meetings with Foreign Ministers of Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Chad -Visit by the HRVP to Algeria 17/09/15, following Commission information meeting in Algiers 9-10/09/15 -Visit by the HRVP to Niger 18/09/15	-Italy – leader of Regional Development and Protection Programme North of Africa consortium. Needs further support by COMM in the dialogue with Algerian authorities.	-High-level dialogues to take place.. Meetings in the pipeline: -Senegal - 19-21/10/15. -Ethiopia – 20/10/15. - Follow up to HRVP visit to Niger: Niger will present a set of measures at the Valletta Summit; -Creating tailor-made packages of 'leverages and incentives' to be used vis-à-vis relevant third countries that do not fully cooperation on readmission; -Follow-up with the re-launch of negotiations to conclude readmission agreements with North African countries; -Possible launch of new negotiations with other countries.
	- Pakistan: Meeting on readmission between Greece, Pakistan and the Commission. Three Joint Readmission Committees held in 2014 and 2015 included action plan to enable Pakistan to fulfil its commitments agreed June 2015 -Specific meetings in Athens 08/10/15 with EL authorities and Pakistan Embassy identified specific problems and reached agreement to de-block the problem.	-	- Pakistan: Follow up of meetings - Implement further commitments under the Joint Readmission Committees of 2014 and 2015. Possible EU-Pakistan Action Plan on Migration to cover readmission, anti-migrant smuggling, support to be discussed in visit of Commissioner Avramopoulos 29 October -Next Joint Readmission Committee first half of 2016, Brussels.
Humanitarian funding	-European Council commitment to provide at least €1bn extra from EU and national budgets to respond to the urgent needs of refugees by supporting the UNHCR, the World Food programme and other humanitarian organisations. -Commission already proposed to provide €200m for humanitarian aid for refugees this year; then a further €300m for humanitarian aid in 2016. -Budgetary authority: European Parliament and Council haves fast-tracked -Contracts worth €50m with UN agencies and other humanitarian organisations (e.g. ICRC, etc.) signed allowing for pre-financing.	-Almost €275 million pledged since 23 September	-Member States to match EU funding for humanitarian aid -Contracts covering the €200m in humanitarian aid to be negotiated by end-November
Trust Funds	Emergency Trust Fund for Africa: -Commission proposal to provide €1.8 billion from the EU funding (EU budget instruments + EDF) to promote stability and address the root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa. The geographical coverage is nine countries in the Sahel Region and Lake Chad area; nine countries in the Horn of Africa: and five countries in the North of Africa.	- At present, three Member States have pledged a total of €9m (ES, DE and LU). Other Member States have indicated a willingness to contribute, as have NO and CH. - Positive opinion by the EDF Committee	-Commission Decisions on the Trust Fund to be adopted ahead of the Valletta Summit. -Ensure substantive and consistent contributions to the Fund by the EU Member States to match the EU funding, and by other international partners
	EU Regional Trust Fund in response to the Syrian Crisis: -€500m from the EU budget	- Two Member State has pledged a total of €8m in additional support (IT €3m and DE €5m))
Capacity-building	-Turkey – action plan (see above) -Serbia/FYROM: special measure of €10 million. Support to capacity building in both countries (including equipment) and humanitarian assistance to refugees -A programme of €8 million from IPA (Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance) Regional programme is being prepared. Aim is to enhance capacities (including registration of refugees) in the Western Balkans. - Africa – Niger: strengthening sunder way of the 'multi-purpose' centre in Agadez, giving direct assistance and information to migrants and registration, as well providing opportunities for safe and voluntary return and reintegration in cooperation with countries of origin. It include support to local communities (1st phase financed by IcSP – €1,5m)	- -Launch of Joint Investigation Team in Niger (EU funded, implemented by Spain and France) to strengthen capacities of Niger to fight against irregular migration	-Turkey – action plan (see above) -. -Serbia/FYROM: Preparation of contracts ongoing, disbursement and implementation in coming weeks. -Launch of project to strengthen the capacities of East African countries to fight against trafficking in human beings and smuggling of migrants – projected start – January 2016 -Preparation of the EU Regional Development and Protection Programme in the Horn of Africa tol enhance the capacities of Kenya, Ethiopia and Sudan in the area of refugee protection and reception capacities -Launch of project to strengthen governments' capacities for return and sustainable reintegration along major migration corridors (with focus on Africa) – projected start January 2016 -Launch of support project for the AU-EU Migration and Mobility Dialogue, the Rabat process and the Khartoum process – projected start December 2015. -Submit draft Mobility Partnership declaration to Launch a dialogue with Lebanon. More proactive approach by Member States in ensuring implementation of the existing EU-Jordan Mobility Partnership and the future EU-Lebanon agreement. -Design and implement the new RDPPs in North Africa and the Horn of Africa in early 2016.

IMPLEMENTATION OF EU LAW

Instrument	EU Action	Action taken by Member States	Next Steps
Asylum Procedures Directive 2013/32/EU	-18 open infringement cases for non- or partial communication of transposition measures; MS were addressed with letters of formal notice; -6 open infringement cases for non-conformity/ bad application at Letter of Formal Notice Stage -1 administrative letter sent to MS raising concerns about the compliance of recent legislation with the provisions of this instrument	1 MS has notified full transposition of the directive. The notification is under assessment (FR)	-If MS do not fully transpose the directive, reasoned opinions and then referrals to the Court of Justice might follow. -If MS do not comply with the directive, reasoned opinions and then referrals to the Court of Justice might follow.
Reception Conditions Directive 2013/33/EU	-19 open infringement cases for non- or partial communication of transposition measures; MS were addressed with letters of formal notice; -8 open infringement cases for non-conformity/ bad application at Letter of Formal Notice stage -1 administrative letter sent to MS raising concerns about the compliance of recent legislation with the provisions of this instrument	2 MS have notified full transposition of the directive. The notifications are under assessment (FR/ES)	-If MS do not fully transpose the directive, reasoned opinions and then referrals to the Court of Justice might follow. -If MS do not comply with the directive, reasoned opinions and then referrals to the Court of Justice might follow
Qualification Directive 2011/95/EU	-13 open infringement cases for non- or partial communication of transposition measures; -11 MS were addressed letters of formal notice; -2 MS were addressed reasoned opinions; -1 open infringement case for non-conformity/ bad-application		-If MS do not fully transpose the directive, reasoned opinions and then referrals to the Court of Justice might follow. -If MS does not comply with the directive, reasoned opinions and then referrals to the Court of Justice might follow
Dublin Regulation EU/604/2013	-1 open infringement case for non-compliance; MS was addressed a letter of formal notice;		-If MS does not comply with the directive, a reasoned opinion and then a referral to the Court of Justice might follow.
Eurodac Regulation EU/603/2013	5 administrative letters were sent to MS requesting clarification on compliance with rules on transmitting fingerprints;	MS have replied to the administrative letters	-Depending on the results of the assessment of the responses to the administrative letters, formal infringement procedures might be launched.
Long-Term Residence Directive 2011/51/EU	-7 open infringement cases for non- or partial communication of transposition measures; MS were addressed with letters of formal notice;		-If MS do not fully transpose the directive, reasoned opinions and then referrals to the Court of Justice might follow.
Return Directive 2008/115/EC	-4 open infringement cases for non-compliance; MS were addressed letters of formal notice;3 administrative letters were sent to MS requesting clarification on the issuing of return decisions to irregularly staying third-country nationals; -7 administrative letters were sent to MS requesting clarification on the enforcement of return decisions issued to illegally staying third-country nationals1 administrative letter sent to MS raising concerns about the compliance of recent legislation with the provisions of this instrument	-	-If MS do not comply with the Directive, the LFN could be followed by reasoned opinions and referrals to the Court of Justice; -Depending on the results of the assessment of the responses to the administrative letters, formal infringement procedures might be launched.
Schengen Borders Code - Regulation (EC) No 562/2006	-1 administrative letter sent to MS raising concerns about the compliance of recent legislation with the provisions of this instrument	-	-Depending on the results of the assessment of the responses to the administrative letter, formal infringement procedures might be launched.

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 14.10.2015

COM(2015) 510 final

ANNEX

to the

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL AND THE COUNCIL

Managing the refugee crisis: State of Play of the Implementation of the Priority Actions under the European Agenda on Migration

Annex 2: Greece – State of Play report from 11 October 2015

I. Hotspots

What has been done

1.Greek authorities and Frontex have increased the deployment of extra staff in the front-line islands (Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Kos and Leros).

2.Lesvos has substantially increased its First Reception Capacity (1480 places in accommodation in the First Reception Centre, the Screening Centre and the Karatepe Temporary Facility) and is expected to be fully operational shortly.

3.Calls for contributions for additional staff and equipment have been launched by Frontex and EASO based on the Greek Roadmap for Relocation and Hotspots. These calls are in addition to the call for extra Eurodac equipment which was launched last July.

4.Frontex and EU-Lisa have launched a pilot project to enhance the registration and data transmission capacity.

5.The Commission and EU Agencies are in constant contact with Member States concerning the provision of contributions in kind (experts and equipment). To date, [3%] of the requested support has been committed by the Member States [to be finalized before the EUCO]. All support should be deployed through the dedicated EU structures (EURTF).

6.The Commission has made pre-financing payments from the relevant EU funds (AMIF and ISF), including in Emergency Assistance.

7.Greece has increased the use of Eurodac, via the transfer of machines from mainland services to the frontline islands.

8.Greece has started to address the internal impediments to the absorption of dedicated EU funds by setting up the responsible authority for the management of AMIF and ISF.

What remains to be done

1.Greece needs to implement the action plan for the roll-out of the remaining hotspots by the end of November 2015.

2.Greece should further improve the registration capacity within the Eurodac system, based on the findings of the Frontex/EU-Lisa pilot project.

3.Member States should respond to the Frontex ongoing call for contribution of Eurodac machines.

4.Greece should further enhance the temporary accommodation capacity in the hotspots.

5.Greece to ensure that hotspots are sufficiently staffed, exploring the possibilities for internal redeployment of staff within the civil service.

6.Greece to improve efficiency of first reception and registration in Lesvos by setting up additional registration units in proximity to the landing sites.

7.Greece to create a crisis management command structure to ensure the daily monitoring of the hotspots and the relocation exercise.

8.Commission to ensure that Member States contributions are channeled through the established EU structures (ex., EU Regional Task Forces)

9.Member States should respond without delay to the calls of Frontex and EASO concerning the deployment extra personnel in the hotspot areas.

II. Returns

What has been done so far

1.Frontex has organized a joint return flight which will leave to Nigeria on October 15, the first after the interruption of the return programme on June 30, 2015.

2.The Commission has assisted Greece in finding an agreement with the Embassy of Pakistan in Athens clarifying and streamlining the return procedures under the EU/Pakistan Readmission Agreement.

3.A call for tender for the resumption of the return programme funded by ISF will be launched by the end of this week.

4.A further joint return flight organized by Frontex has been scheduled to Pakistan. The Pakistani Embassy has committed to issue the relevant travelling documents for 26 nationals.

5.Greece has currently sufficient pre-removal detention capacity to implement a forced returns programme.

What remains to be done

1.Greece to complete swiftly the call for tender for returns and resume its return programme without delay.

2.Commission and Member States to assist Greece in its demarches with the countries of origin in the context of readmission agreements.

III. Relocation

What has been done so far

1.The Commission has assisted Greece to establish the necessary administrative procedures for the efficient implementation of the relocation decisions.

2.Greece has started awareness-raising actions in order to communicate the benefits of the relocation programme to eligible asylum seekers.

3.First relocation flight to Luxembourg of 30 Syrian nationals is being organised.

4.Greece has increased the staff capacity of its Asylum Service by 30% since June 2015, primarily through fixed-term staff hired under the EEA grants.

5.Greece has created a dedicated unit for relocation procedures within the Asylum Service.

6.The Asylum Service and EASO have agreed on an Operational Plan laying down the terms of cooperation in the hotspots and relocation programme.

What remains to be done

1.Greece must step-up communication efforts for the relocation programme.

2.Member States must appoint Liaison Officers to Greece without delay.

3.Member States should prepare and provide appropriate information packages in order to enhance the candidates’ awareness of about the programme.

4.Member States to set up adequate reception structures and integration measures (housing and accommodation, medical care, schooling, language courses, etc.), by making full use of the shared management instruments to support these efforts (AMIF, ESF, FEAD, EAFRD, ERDF).

5.Greece should increase capacity in Open Reception Facilities.

6.Greece to further increase the processing capacity of its Asylum Service through the deployment of EASO and UNHCR reinforcement of staff.

IV. Medium-term actions

1.Greece, with technical support of the Commission and Member States, should ensure that the systemic and structural deficiencies of its Migration and Asylum systems will be addressed in a sustainable fashion within the next six months.

2.Greece to improve coordination of governance at all levels of the administration, including decentralized administration.

3.Greece should further improve its capacity to effectively use dedicated EU funds.

4.Greece to increase further the accommodation capacity in the frontline and the mainland in anticipation of peaks of arrivals.

5.Commission and Member States to assist Greece to enhance the capacity of the relevant Ministries and services, including for the absorption of the funds, based on technical assistance by the Commission.

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 14.10.2015

COM(2015) 510 final

ANNEX

to the

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL AND THE COUNCIL

Managing the refugee crisis: State of Play of the Implementation of the Priority Actions under the European Agenda on Migration

Annex 3: Italy – State of Play report from 11 October 2015

I. Hotspots

What has been done

1.The Italian authorities opened the first hotspot in Lampedusa two weeks ago. The hotspot is fully operational with the presence of both EASO and Frontex. Fingerprinting compliance in the hotspot has been increasing, even though migrants continue in several cases to resist fingerprinting.

2.All the other hotspots have already been identified. Most can start working in the coming weeks. Two of them, Taranto and Augusta, will be operational only by the end of 2015.

3.In all hotspots, the core presence foreseen is 10 Frontex fingerprinters, 2 debriefing teams and 2 screening teams, alongside a team of 3 EASO experts for information provision. The ongoing calls by Frontex and EASO should allow all needs in all hotspots to be covered, provided that MS commit a sufficient number of experts.

4.An EU Regional Task Force (EURTF) has already been working in Catania since July and is fully operational with the presence of all Agencies. However there is a need to better integrate the work of Europol in the hotspot concept, in particular to enhance exchange of information from Italian Public Prosecution officers and law enforcement to Europol.

5.In order to support the full functioning of the hotspot approach, the Italian authorities are currently gathering their needs into one comprehensive needs assessment, to ask for a package of support from European Funds. A dedicated technical meeting with the Commission is foreseen for 16 October.

What remains to be done

1.The remaining hotspots need to be made operational on schedule in order to ensure the full functioning of the system and relieve pressure on Lampedusa. The situation of inflow and outflow needs to be constantly monitored to assess any possible need for further hotspots.

2.Italy should ensure full use of the existing detention capacity to ensure compliance with the rules on identification and should open further places in detention centres to provide the capacity needed for an effective identification and return process.

3.Member States should ensure the immediate availability of experts for the calls issued by Frontex and EASO. Such experts should be available for long term deployments to be as operational as possible.

4.Italy should consider reforms of existing norms concerning detention, to ensure that longer-term detention is possible where this is essential for identification to be completed in difficult cases.

5.The Italian authorities should issue further guidance on the proportionate use of force in cases where migrants refuse identification, on the basis of the indications issued by the Commission.

6.To ensure the swift transfer of migrants from the hotspot areas to the second-line reception facilities, or to detention facilities, the Commission is likely to be asked soon for logistical support, through the mobilization of a dedicated ECHO Framework Contract for plane chartering.

II. Return

What has been done

1.The Italian authorities have invested significant resources in the field of return and the procedure is now well established in many cases (Egyptians, Tunisians). Since the beginning of the year, 72 return flights have been organized.

2.Italy is currently negotiating with several Sub Saharan countries operational agreements to ensure swift return of third country nationals (particularly in Western Africa). An agreement has been reached already with Gambia, while others have been proposed to other Third Countries. Cooperation with Nigeria has also been enhanced.

3.Italy participates in joint flights organised by Frontex on a regular basis.

What remains to be done

1.Italy should enhance its efforts to return irregular migrants from Sub Saharan countries. The Commission and the EEAS should support the Italian authorities to conclude operational agreements with Sub Saharan countries in order to ensure an efficient and effective return of irregular migrants. This can include the provision of financial support to cooperation on readmission between Italy and Sub-Saharan countries.

2.Italy should establish a framework contract for long-haul return flights (Sub Saharan Africa) which require tendering above 250.000 EUR. The Commission may support such flights and Frontex return flights could also be used to this end.

3.Italy should ensure swift processing of asylum applications which are clearly an attempt to frustrate return efforts. This could be achieved by ensuring dedicated processing capacity for such cases. The possible reform of suspensive appeals for manifestly unfounded cases could also be considered.

4.Italy should provide Frontex and the Commission with a clear assessment of needs in the field of return in time for the technical meeting on 16 October 2016.

5.Frontex joint return flights should wherever appropriate ensure stopovers in Italy, in particular flights to Sub Saharan countries.

III. Relocation

What has been done

1.A first relocation flight to Sweden of 19 Eritreans has taken place on 9 October. The flight is the tangible expression of the fact that procedures are now in place for the roll out of the relocation system.

2.Italy has identified dedicated centres for persons who are eligible for relocation. One in Villa Sikania is already operational, with EASO staff available to undertake the relocation interviews. Two others in Crotone and Bari need to be made operational without delay.

3.Meetings with the Liaison Officers in Rome and with the other European Dublin Units have been organised together with the Commission in order to facilitate the procedure and explain to all Member States the technicalities of the process.

4.In order to ensure the absorption of the existing backlog, EASO teams have been deployed in the main transit cities (Rome and Milan) to support the Italian authorities with the registration of the applicants for relocation.

5.EASO has launched a call for experts to reinforce the Italian Dublin Unit (10 experts requested – 3 deployed so far and 2 to be deployed soon).

6.A dedicated circular has been issued to all Italian Prefecturas to inform them of the start of the relocation process and ensure awareness throughout Italy, before individuals approach the authorities.

What remains to be done

1.All Member States should provide details of how many relocation places they will provide to the end of the year. The pledges should be initially limited in order to allow a gradual increase of the transfers before reaching cruising speed.

2.Italy should ensure that the relocation procedure first applied with Sweden is now crystallized into standard operating procedures followed throughout the territory and should reinforce its Dublin Unit in order to allow the swift roll-out of the process.

3.Italy should establish a dedicated database in the Dublin Unit in order to support the matching procedure and ensure the swift roll out of the IT adjournments needed.

4.Italy should open the remaining two centres identified for relocation and EASO should swiftly deploy experts there.

5.Italy with the support of EASO and UNCHR should develop information targeting potential persons to be relocated. The Commission could support this effort, for example by financing a pool of dedicated cultural mediators.

6.Member States should consider preparing dedicated information kits to be provided to identified relocation candidates.

IV. Medium term actions

Italy should consider as a matter of priority possible ways to increase the overall efficiency of its asylum procedure in order to ensure swift treatment of people who are not eligible for relocation and to ensure consistency of decisions. This could include also the appeal system in order to streamline it and achieve faster decisions at second instance.

Italy should also consider how to ensure a more uniform quality of reception conditions throughout the territory in order to build on the good practices existing in several regions and extending them to other areas.

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 14.10.2015

COM(2015) 510 final

ANNEX

to the

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL AND THE COUNCIL

Managing the refugee crisis: State of Play of the Implementation of the Priority Actions under the European Agenda on Migration

Annex 4 - Map of the 'Hotspots' designated in Greece

Top

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 14.10.2015

COM(2015) 510 final

ANNEX

to the

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL AND THE COUNCIL

Managing the refugee crisis: State of Play of the Implementation of the Priority Actions under the European Agenda on Migration

Annex 5 - Map of the 'Hotspots' designated in Italy

Top

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 14.10.2015

COM(2015) 510 final

ANNEX

to the

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL AND THE COUNCIL

Managing the refugee crisis: State of Play of the Implementation of the Priority Actions under the European Agenda on Migration

Annex 6 Implementing the Common European Asylum System

	Asylum Procedures Directive 2013/32/EU	Reception Conditions Directive 2013/33/EU	Qualifications Directive 2011/95/EU	EURODAC Regulation EU/603/2013	Return Directive 2008/115/EC
	Stage of Process	Stage of Process	Stage of Process	Stage of Process	Stage of Process
Austria		LFN sent for non-communication of transposition Partial transposition notified
Belgium	LFN sent for non-communication of transposition	LFN sent for non-communication of transposition			Administrative letter sent requesting clarifications on application
Bulgaria	LFN sent for non-communication of transposition	LFN sent for non-communication of transposition	RO sent for non-communication of transposition		Administrative letter sent requesting clarifications on application
Cyprus	LFN sent for non-communication of transposition Partial transposition notified	LFN sent for non-communication of transposition Partial transposition notified		Administrative letter sent requesting clarifications on application Reply received
Croatia
Czech Republic	LFN sent for non-communication of transposition	LFN sent for non-communication of transposition			Administrative letter sent requesting clarifications on application
Denmark	N/A	N/A	N/A
Estonia	LFN sent for non-communication of transposition	LFN sent for non-communication of transposition
Finland
France	LFN sent for non-communication of transposition Full transposition of the Directive has been notified – under assessment	LFN sent for non-communication of transposition Full transposition of the Directive has been notified – under assessment			Administrative letter sent requesting clarifications on application
Germany	LFN sent for non-communication of transposition	LFN sent for non-communication of transposition		Administrative letter sent requesting clarifications on application Reply received	Administrative letter sent requesting clarifications on application
Greece	LFN sent for non-communication of transposition	LFN sent for non-communication of transposition		Administrative letter sent requesting clarifications on application Reply received	Administrative letter sent requesting clarifications on application
	Second additional LFN sent for bad application
Hungary	LFN sent for non-communication of transposition	LFN sent for non-communication of transposition		Administrative letter sent requesting clarifications on application Reply received
	Administrative letter sent concerning compliance of newly adopted legislation
Ireland	N/A	N/A	N/A		N/A
Italy				Administrative letter sent requesting clarifications on application Reply received	Administrative letter sent requesting clarifications on application Reply received
Latvia	LFN sent for non-communication of transposition	LFN sent for non-communication of transposition
Lithuania	LFN sent for non-communication of transposition	LFN sent for non-communication of transposition
Luxembourg	LFN sent for non-communication of transposition	LFN sent for non-communication of transposition
Malta	LFN sent for non-communication of transposition	LFN sent for non-communication of transposition			Administrative letter sent requesting clarifications on application
Netherlands					Administrative letter sent requesting clarifications on application
Poland	LFN sent for non-communication of transposition	LFN sent for non-communication of transposition
Portugal					Administrative letter sent requesting clarifications on application
Romania	LFN sent for non-communication of transposition	LFN sent for non-communication of transposition
Slovakia
Slovenia	LFN sent for non-communication of transposition	LFN sent for non-communication of transposition
Spain	LFN sent for non-communication of transposition	LFN sent for non-communication of transposition Full transposition of the Directive has been notified – under assessment	RO sent for non-communication of transposition Partial transposition notified
Sweden	LFN sent for non-communication of transposition	LFN sent for non-communication of transposition
United Kingdom	N/A	N/A	N/A		N/A

40 new decisions from 23 September 2015 and onward

LFN = Letter of Formal Notice

RO = Reasoned Opinion

NB: updates concern the period between 24 September and 10 October 2015

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 14.10.2015

COM(2015) 510 final

ANNEX

to the

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL AND THE COUNCIL

Managing the refugee crisis: State of Play of the Implementation of the Priority Actions under the European Agenda on Migration

Annex 7: Member States' financial pledges since 23 September 2015, EUR m

	Member States	Syria Trust Fund	Africa Trust Fund	Humanitarian aid pledged since 23 September 2015					Total
				World Food Programme	UNHCR		Other
	CY			0.02					0.02
	CZ			0.20					0.20
	DE	5.00	3.00	40.00		60.00			108.00
	ES		3.00	3.50					6.50
	FI							7.60	7.60
	IT	3.00		1.00				22.21	26.21
	LU		3.00	0.20		0.10		0.76	4.06
	LV			0.05					0.05
	PL			1.00		1.00			2.00
	UK			137.00					137.00
Total Pledged		8	9	274,64					291.64
EU additional contribution		500	1800	500.00
Total required		1000	3600	1000.00
Shortfall		492	1791	225,36

Note: Specific commitments communicated by 12 October 2015

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 14.10.2015

COM(2015) 510 final

ANNEX

to the

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL AND THE COUNCIL

Managing the refugee crisis: State of Play of the Implementation of the Priority Actions under the European Agenda on Migration

ANNEX 8

Financial Support to Member States under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund and the Internal Security Fund

	Long-term Funding 2014-2020				First Payments in 2015 of Long-term Funding		Emergency Funding
	AMIF Allocation	ISF-Borders Allocation	ISF-Police Allocation	TOTAL AMIF + ISF Allocations	First AMIF pre-financing payment (Green = Paid)	First ISF pre-financing payment (Green = Paid)	AMIF emergency assistance	ISF Borders emergency assistance
Austria	€70,533,977	€14,383,227	€12,162,906	€97,080,110	€4,937,378.39	€1,858,229.31	€6,280,000
Belgium	€98,264,742.12	€21,317,321	€17,903,270	€137,485,333.12	€6,878,531.95	€2,745,441.37
Bulgaria	€10,006,777	€40,757,630	€32,002,293	€82,766,700	€700,474.39	€5,093,194.61	€4,100,000
Croatia	€17,133,800	€35,609,771	€19,095,426	€71,838,997	€1,199,366.00	€3,829,363.79	Further requests pending	Further requests pending
Cyprus	€32,308,677	€34,507,030	€8,117,257	€74,932,964	€2,261,607.39	€2,983,700.09	€940,000
Czech Republic	€27,685,177	€15,155,484	€17,029,012	€59,869,673	€1,937,962.39	€2,252,914.72
Denmark	N/A	€10,322,133	N/A	€10,322,133	N/A	€722,549.31
Estonia	€10,156,577	€21,781,752	€13,480,269	€45,418,598	€710.960,39	€2,468,341.47
Finland	€44,138,777	€37,294,528	€15,682,348	€97,115,653	€3,089,714.39	€3,708,381.32
France	€286,590,577	€107,049,342	€70,114,640	€463,754,559	€20,061,340.39	€12,401,478.74	€8,980,000	€1,730,000
Germany	€221,416,877	€54,948,437	€79,504,401	€355,869,715	€15,499,181.39	€9,411,698.66	€7,030,000 Further requests pending
Greece	€259,348,877	€194,354,388	€20,489,650	€474,192,915	€18,154,421.39	€15,039,082.66	€1,180,000 Further requests pending	€18,300,700 Further requests pending

	Long-term Funding 2014-2020				First Payments in 2015 of Long-term Funding		Emergency Funding
	AMIF Allocation	ISF-Borders Allocation	ISF-Police Allocation	TOTAL AMIF + ISF Allocations	First AMIF pre-financing payment (Green = Paid)	First ISF pre-financing payment (Green = Paid)	AMIF emergency assistance	ISF Borders emergency assistance
Hungary	€24,113,477	€40,829,197	€20,663,922	€85,606,596	€1,687,943.39	€4,304,518.33	€5,210,000 Further requests pending	€1,490,000
Ireland	€22,679,077	N/A	€9,243,080	€31,922,157	€1,587,535.39	€647,015.60
Italy	€315,355,777	€188,256,897	€56,631,761	€560,244,435	€22,074,904.39	€17,142,206.06	€13,660,000	€5,460,000
Latvia	€13,751,777	€15,971,704	€16,941,431	€46,664,912	€962,624.39	€2,303,919.45
Lithuania	€9,632,277	€179,829,873	€16,120,656	€205,582,806	€674,259.39	€13,716,537.03
Luxembourg	€7,960,577	€5,400,129	€2,102,689	€15,463,395	€557,240.39	€525,197.26
Malta	€17,178,877	€65,698,597	€8,979,107	€91,856,581	€1,202,521.39	€5,227,439.28
Netherlands	€127,724,077	€34,119,543	€31,540,510	€193,384,130	€8,940,685.39	€4,596,203.71	€2,090,000
Poland	€69,393,621.20	€73,268,980	€39,294,220	€181,956,821.20	€4,857,553.48	€6,188,514.71
Portugal	€33,856,377	€19,956,048	€18,693,124	€72,505,549	€2,369,946.39	€2,631,520.29
Romania	€24,430,877	€61,331,568	€37,150,105	€122,912,550	€1,710,161.39	€6,893,717.11
Slovakia	€13,076,477	€10,092,525	€13,891,478	€37,060,480	€915,353.39	€1,678,880.21
Slovenia	€14,725,477	€31,304,143	€9,882,037	€55,911,657	€1,030,783.39	€2,883,032.60
Spain	€259,701,877	€207,894,875	€54,227,207	€521,823,959	€18,179,131.39	€18,348,545.74
Sweden	€154,146,877	€11,518,706	€21,057,201	€186,722,784	€10,790,281.39	€2,280,313.49
United Kingdom	€392,625,577	N/A	N/A	€392,625,577	€27,483,790.39	N/A
TOTAL	€2,577,937,911.32	€1,532,953,828	€662,000,000	€4,772,891,739.32	€180,455,653.79	€151,881,858,67	€49,470,000	€26,980,700

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EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 14.10.2015

COM(2015) 510 final

ANNEX

to the

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL AND THE COUNCIL

Managing the refugee crisis: State of Play of the Implementation of the Priority Actions under the European Agenda on Migration

Annex 9: The functioning of the EU–Pakistan Readmission Agreement 2012-2014

	Return decisions issued to citizens of Pakistan				Effective returns of citizens of Pakistan				Return ratio of citizens of Pakistan
	2012	2013	2014	Total	2012	2013	2014	Total	2012	2013	2014	Average
EU total	35,460	25,360	19,945	80,765	13,565	13,705	10,725	37,995	38.3	54.0	53.8	47.0
UK	7,125	8,240	9,790	25,155	5,625	6,210	5,605	17,440	78.9	75.4	57.3	69.3
Greece	18,010	7,620	3,525	29,155	5,135	4,835	3,565	13,535	28.5	63.5	101.1	46.4
France	1,915	2,180	2,240	6,335	505	555	590	1,650	26.4	25.5	26.3	26.0
Belgium	1,420	1,535	1,005	3,960	125	175	145	445	8.8	11.4	14.4	11.2
Spain	2,540	1,370	1,800	5,710	220	155	125	500	8.7	11.3	6.9	8.8
Austria	1,205	1,035	:	2,240	80	230	:	310	6.6	22.2	:	13.8
Hungary	790	665	90	1,545	690	585	95	1,370	87.3	88.0	105.6	88.7
Germany	375	545	810	1,730	220	185	170	575	58.7	33.9	21.0	33.2
Italy	400	520	330	1,250	35	30	25	90	8.8	5.8	7.6	7.2
Netherlands	280	390	:	670	70	60	:	130	25.0	15.4	:	19.4
Cyprus	295	330	240	865	415	290	165	870	140.7	87.9	68.8	100.6
Sweden	220	255	215	690	55	100	100	255	25.0	39.2	46.5	37.0
Croatia	:	185	85	270	:	55	75	130	:	29.7	88.2	48.1
Portugal	235	105	100	440	25	5	10	40	10.6	4.8	10.0	9.1
Denmark	90	85	110	285	60	45	60	165	66.7	52.9	54.5	57.9
Ireland	190	70	45	305	55	20	10	85	28.9	28.6	22.2	27.9
Bulgaria	60	65	220	345	25	30	40	95	41.7	46.2	18.2	27.5
Poland	95	45	45	185	45	20	35	100	47.4	44.4	77.8	54.1
Romania	100	35	30	165	90	50	30	170	90.0	142.9	100.0	103.0
Finland	15	30	25	70	10	5	5	20	66.7	16.7	20.0	28.6
Slovenia	50	25	45	120	55	45	30	130	110.0	180.0	66.7	108.3
Lithuania	5	10	10	25	5	5	5	15	100.0	50.0	50.0	60.0
Czech Rep.	5	5	5	15	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Estonia	10	5	-	15	5	5	-	10	50.0	100.0	no case	66.7
Malta	25	5	-	30	-	5	-	5	-	100.0	no case	16.7
Latvia	5	-	10	15	5	-	10	15	100.0	no case	100.0	100.0
Slovakia	-	-	10	10	-	-	-	-	no case	no case		100.0

Source: Eurostat, 2015.

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