Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund - Performance

Programme in a nutshell

Concrete examples of achievements (*)

^{(*) Key achievements in the table state which period they relate to. Many come from the implementation of the predecessor programmes under the 2014-2020 multiannual financial framework. This is expected and is due to the multiannual life cycle of EU programmes and the projects they finance, where results often follow only after completion of the programmes. Verifications are still ongoing in some Member States, in line with the procedure to assess the Annual Implementation Reports and the reporting cycle. Thus, the figures are not yet fully consolidated.}

Budget for 2021-2027

Rationale and design of the programme

The Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund promotes the efficient management of migration flows and the implementation, strengthening and development of a common approach to asylum and immigration in the EU.

Budget

Budget programming (million EUR):

^{(*) Only Article 15(3) of the financial regulation.}

  Financial programming:
  + EUR 253.8 million (+ 3%)
  compared to the legal basis*

^{* Top-ups pursuant to Article 5 of the multiannual financial framework regulation are excluded from financial programming in this comparison.}

• A total of EUR 4.3 million under the initial AMIF allocation is transferred to other shared management funds through CPR article 26 (i.e., EUR 1.1 to BMVI; EUR 3.2 to ISF).
• The increase between 2024 and 2025 is due to the additional resources of the midterm review (Article 17 of the programme regulation) for which funding should be available in 2025.
• The net increase of 3% (EUR 253.8 million) is the result of the following reinforcements: EUR 21.7 million (DEC18/2021), EUR 20 million (Compromise on MFF of December 2022), EUR 50.3 million (DEC11/2022), EUR 99.7 (DAB3/2022), EUR 29.7 (DEC19/2022), EUR 36.5 (DB2023 conciliation); and of the CPR article 26 transfers out (EUR 4.3 million).

Budget performance – implementation

Multiannual cumulative implementation rate at the end of 2022 (million EUR):

Annual voted budget implementation (million EUR)⁽¹⁾:

^{(1) Voted appropriations (C1) only.}

Contribution to horizontal priorities

Green budgeting

Contribution to green budgeting priorities (million EUR):

• In line with the EU's commitments to work towards achieving the United Nations sustainable development goals, the programme regulation commits (with no specific programme target) to contributing to the achievement of the EU's goal of spending at least 30% of the total amount of the EU budget on supporting climate objectives and of the EU's ambition to spend 7.5% of the annual EU budget on biodiversity in 2024 and 10% in both 2026 and 2027, while considering the existing overlaps between climate and biodiversity goals.
• This could happen, for example, by focusing on green procurement regarding infrastructure assets / information technology systems – subject to specific provisions ensuring the choice of products/services that reduce the climate impact by applying the best available technologies, the use of renewable energy in buildings, enhanced isolation and other items. For the time being, there are no strict conditions set for national programming or project selection, but Member States are rather encouraged to prioritise environmentally-friendly actions.

Gender

Contribution to gender equality (million EUR) (*):

<sup>(*) Based on the applied gender contribution methodology, the following scores are attributed at the most granular level of intervention possible:
- 2: interventions the principal objective of which is to improve gender equality;
- 1: interventions that have gender equality as an important and deliberate objective but not as the main reason for the intervention;
- 0: non-targeted interventions (interventions that are expected to have no significant bearing on gender equality);
- 0*: score to be assigned to interventions with a likely but not yet clear positive impact on gender equality.</sup>

• The programme is committed to the horizontal approach of the EU budget, in which equality between women and men, rights and equal opportunities for all and the mainstreaming of these objectives should be taken into account and promoted throughout the preparation, implementation and monitoring of relevant programmes, as stipulated in Article 6 of the programme regulation (Regulation (EU) 2021/1147).
• In the broader context, in order to receive payments from the Commission, Member State programmes for DG Migration and Home Affairs funds will have to comply with a number of horizontal-enabling conditions, one of which concerns the effective application and implementation of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, including the equality of men and women. The horizontal-enabling conditions must be fulfilled throughout the entire programming period and Member States have to report on their application to the programme monitoring committee and the Commission.
• The programme regulation specifically stipulates that eligible actions need to take into account the human rights-based approach to the protection of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers and should, in particular, ensure that special attention is paid to, and a dedicated response is provided for, the specific situation of vulnerable persons, in particular women, unaccompanied minors and victims of trafficking in human beings. At this stage it is considered that all type of actions supported by the programme may have a potential to impact gender equality. Therefore, the whole amount (initial voted budget) is equivalent to the gender score 0*, comprising both direct and shared management.
• In the context of the midterm evaluations, to be carried out by the end of 2024, the potential to impact gender equality of specific types of intervention will be examined in greater detail – and the gender score may be subject to variations.

Digital

Contribution to digital transition (million EUR):

It is considered that activities under the following specific objectives of the programme may partially contribute to the goal of digital transition:

• strengthening the Common European Asylum System;
• strengthening and developing legal migration to the Member States;
• contributing to countering irregular migration.

However, since the legal basis for the 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework and the programme regulation did not foresee that expenditure contributing to the goal of digital transition should be tracked, it is not possible to develop a tracking methodology to estimate the amount of such expenditure.

Budget performance – outcomes

• The approval of the Member State programmes for 2021-2027, which represent the bulk of the resources of the programme, took place in the last quarter of 2022, in line with the timing of most programmes covered by the common provisions regulation (Regulation (EU) 2021/1060). Monitoring systems at the Member State level are currently being developed.
• Given the very early stage of implementation, it is not yet possible to carry out any meaningful assessment of the progress towards the achievement of the milestones and targets only recently established by the Member States⁽¹⁾.
• Overall, the implementation of programme will inevitably be affected by the energy crisis and the general increase in prices, which vastly exceeded expectations in many Member States. Continued pressure of the resources could result in lower achievements at the level of the key performance indicators or a need to revise the original strategy, but could also influence the implementation of transnational actions. Increases appear to particularly affect the building sector, with repercussions on the development and maintenance of the reception infrastructure.
• As regards direct management, in view of their specific nature and legislative objectives, the performance of transnational Union actions cannot be fully captured by the key performance indicators, but they effectively complement the implementation of the policy objectives at the national level through Member States' programmes via developing policy analysis and innovation, transnational mutual learning and partnerships and the testing of new initiatives and actions across the EU. The actions financed under the Thematic Facility 2021-2022 will be starting soon, after the adoption of the work programme, launch of the calls for proposal, selection and award procedures. With the Union actions, the Commission has selected in 2021-2022 valuable projects in the area of information and awareness-raising campaigns, along with support to the victims of trafficking of human beings. The Commission also supports actions in the area of external dimensions aiming at easing migratory pressure and facilitating returns. However, inflation may particularly affect the Union actions, due to the mandatory use of fixed unit rates for certain types of costs. Based on the current legal framework, these rates cannot be actualised on account of inflation, so they can result in insufficient coverage of the real expenditures of the organisations involved in the implementation of the actions. This, in turn, can lead to reduced participation in future calls for proposals, along with project activities that need to be removed from the scope of existing support, as they have become financially non-viable.

The performance of the Emergency Assistance actions to the Member States most affected by the mass influx of displaced persons from Ukraine is currently under examination. As recalled in the budget implementation section, the programme provided essential and timely support to strengthen the capacity to address the most immediate needs of the displaced persons, including information and administrative support, shelter and temporary accommodation, food, basic material assistance, transport and special assistance for vulnerable individuals. In agreement with the Commission, a list of performance indicators and supporting evidence was specified in the grant agreements. The preliminary findings indicate that the targets have been fully achieved.

^{(1) As per standard practice for shared management programmes and in line with the legal framework, the milestones and targets have been established by the Member States based on their strategy and needs assessment, and in line with the available resources indicatively planned in the programmes across pre-defined types of interventions. The Member States are indeed best placed to tailor the design of the programme to their national context and needs. The methodology for target setting was shared with the Commission, which also provided methodological advice to the Member States. The milestones, targets and related methodology can be adjusted during the programming period in duly justified cases, such as a revision of the programme's strategy, relevant external contextual factors and changes in the distribution or volume of the available resources, and upon review of the Commission. An overall assessment of the relevance of the strategy and its targets compared to the evolving needs at both the Member State and EU level will be part of the midterm evaluation of the programme.}

MFF 2014-2020 – Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund

The programme is achieving its objectives, especially considering the volatile and challenging migration situation throughout the 2014-2020 period. The programme provides the financial means to push forward the EU’s agenda on migration. The Commission is working to establish a comprehensive approach on this agenda, developing legislative proposals to establish and improve common EU action, and monitoring and enforcing the correct implementation of applicable rules by the Member States.

Budget implementation

Cumulative implementation rate at the end of 2022 (million EUR):

Performance assessment

• The programme focused on the three areas: asylum schemes, migration and integration. Whereas in the first year a stronger focus was placed on asylum schemes, for example via resettlement and relocation, the latter years focused increasingly on legal migration and integration.
• In terms of the overall programme performance, most of the indicators set out for the programme have achieved their targets or are on track to do so by the end of the programming period, which was extended by one year due to the Russian war of agression to Ukraine. Some difficulties remain visible in the returns area, which was particularly affected in the last three years by COVID-19-related travel restrictions. Differences in performance across Member States also exist, either due to changes in the existing needs, specific implementation issues and the impact of inflation. In 2022, the flexibility provided by the revised regulation to use unspent resources allowed several Member States to increase their efforts on first reception and early integration to offer crucial support in view of the mass influx of displaced people from Ukraine.
• On the strengthening of the Common European Asylum System, the number of asylum applications increased by over 60% in 2022, on top of a 30% increase between 2020 and 2021. The figures surpassed pre-pandemic levels after a drop that was largely driven by COVID-19 and the related travel restrictions. Member States have been therefore confronted with a markedly increasing pressure on their reception systems in 2022. As regards the programme actions, the fund provided over 3 million people⁽¹⁾ in target groups with asylum assistance, exceeding its target of 1.26 million, and nearly 90 thousand people were trained in asylum-related topics compared to a target of approximately 25 thousand. Inflation is reported as a factor particularly impacting the building sector and the possibility to further improve the performance of the indicators related to new or improved accommodation infrastructures. However, Member States made use of the flexibility provided by the revised regulation to cope with the joint effect of increased prices and increases in demand of reception services due to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. In addition, as described in the section covering the implementation of the 2021-2027 programme, Emergency Assistance⁽²⁾ was used to reinforce the efforts of the Member States most affected by the mass influx of displaced people from Ukraine to offer first reception services.
• On effective integration and legal migration, the Commission supports the Member States in integrating non-EU nationals through the use of EU funding, some of which is provided by the programme and the rest by the European Structural and Investment Funds. Under the programme’s national programmes, the target of 2.6 million people having participated in integration assistance projects was greatly exceeded. In particular, in 2022, a marked increase was measured in the volume of assistance provided, as a testimony of the efforts of the Member States to offer early integration support to displaced people from Ukraine. However, as regards the number of persons who participated in pre-departure measures, the results fell below the target set (176 998 people supported versus a target of 240 920). Reaching the targets depends on the Member States and their estimates, with some exceeding their targets and others still at a distance from them. Travel restrictions and delays due to COVID-19 also played a role, and so did the fact that sometimes, based on national strategies, similar measures are offered upon arrival and are therefore not captured by this indicator.
• On effective return policies, with migrants who have no right to stay in the EU needing to be returned, the area needs further improvement and additional efforts, which will depend on better cooperation from non-EU countries and on Member States’ effectiveness in implementing returns. As from 2020, the rate of effective return from the EU-27 to non-EU countries dropped significantly, reflecting that actual return operations were affected by COVID-19 related travel restrictions whereas return decisions were much less affected during COVID-19. Despite some progress, return-related indicators directly linked to the support provided by AMIF are also not fully on track to achieve their targets. The Commission put forward a number of new initiatives to improve the effectiveness of return policies, including its first strategy on voluntary returns and reintegration⁽³⁾, additional cooperation with key countries of origin and the strengthening of flights coordinated by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (up by approximately 50%). Furthermore, in March 2022, the Commission appointed a Return Coordinator in DG Migration and Home Affairs. Based on the reporting from the Member States, travel restrictions continued to affect the volume of returns especially in the first part of 2022, with lasting effects on the cumulative values achieved.
• On strengthening solidarity and sharing responsibilities between Member States, several Member States, notably Greece, Spain and Italy, have benefited from emergency assistance from the programme. The number of relocations supported by the AMIF across the different management modes is on track to achieve its target.
• The main lessons learned during the 2014-2020 programming period include the following:
  • there has been insufficient cooperation, coordination and strategic steering in the implementation of the programme with other EU-level initiatives;
  • there is a need for simplification;
  • there is insufficient flexibility to respond to changing needs during the programming period;
  • there is a need to strengthen the quality of performance monitoring, with more regular and reliable data for the result indicators.
• These lessons learned are being fed into the programming and implementation of the 2021-2027 programmes.

^{(1) In the case of person-related indicators, it is possible that the same individual receiving support under different operations or in different years, is counted multiple times.
(2) Emergency assistance is the Commission’s main tool for providing urgent and specific support in emergency situations.
(3) COM(2021) 120 final of 27.4.2021.}

Contribution to the sustainable development goals