Welcome to the EMN Quarterly, our selection of the key developments in the areas of migration and asylum from October to December 2022. The full PDF version of the EMN Quarterly can be found here.

In October 2022, the European Commission launched the EU Talent Pool pilot initiative, a new online job search tool that will support people fleeing the war in Ukraine to find employment more swiftly and effectively in the EU.

The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) published its second Ukraine Bulletin, covering the broad fundamental rights impact of the war in Ukraine in EU Member States. FRA also published an overview of how the Temporary Protection Directive is applied at national level in 16 EU Member States. The European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA), International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published a joint report on profiles, experiences, and aspirations of forcibly displaced people following the war in Ukraine. In November 2022, Eurostat published an article showing data on Ukrainians in the EU preceding the Russian invasion and publishes monthly statistics on temporary protection that is publicly available.

There were migration related updates linked with EU candidatures and participation in the Schengen area. Bulgaria and Romania moved closer to becoming full participants in the Schengen area, whilst Croatia became a full member at the start of 2023. Related fact-finding missions showed steps taken to in areas such as protecting fundamental rights at the external border, combating irregular migration, and tackling trafficking in human beings. As Bosnia and Herzegovina was granted EU candidate status by the European Council, the EUAA met with country representatives in December 2022 to discuss ways to strengthen their international protection systems.

EU Action Plans to address challenges along migration routes were released. In November 2022, the European Commission presented the EU Action Plan for the Central Mediterranean and in December 2022, released the EU Action Plan on the Western Balkans to address challenges along these migratory routes in line with the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum.

New Guidance documents applicable at national level were published. The FRA published guidance on monitoring fundamental rights at EU external borders and the EUAA published a practical tool on the design and management of reception facilities.

The renewed Schengen Information System (SIS) goes into force in March 2023. A new alert system will increase detection of risk for both children and adults from becoming victims of human trafficking, gender-based violence, and terrorist offenses. The system introduces changes to border controls, identification of individuals, and security to prevent vulnerable groups from being taken unlawfully abroad or to prevent them from travelling without the necessary authorisations.

The European Migration Network (EMN) expanded its membership. In October 2022, Armenia became an Observer Country to the European Migration Network EMN.

As the EU designated the year 2022 as the European Year of Youth to highlight the importance of young people’s futures by including young people and their priorities in policy-making, an EMN Youth Day event was organised on 16 November 2022, where 11 EMN National Contact Points organised events that were joined together in an online EU-level event that was successful in reaching out to both EU nationals and migrant populations.

EU Member States announced updates to the application of the Temporary Protection Directive following the European Commission’s announcement that it would be extended to 4 March 2024. Bulgaria, Latvia, the Netherlands and Poland provided updates on extending vouchers or stipends to recipients of temporary protection; France started a programme of financial support to families who voluntarily host displaced persons from Ukraine. In Estonia, a new contract was signed with Tallink Group for short term accommodation for Ukrainian refugees on a ship. More than 5 000 Ukrainian refugees, mostly women and children, have been accommodated over the past eight months on the ship. Further updates on accommodation were reported, including in: Latvia where state aid was extended for accommodation; Lithuania prolonged the provision of compensations for individuals and businesses providing accommodation for Ukrainian refugees until the end of 2023; Spain launched TECHO Platform, a digital platform that channels offers of rental housing by individuals, organisations, associations, and more; and Montenegro provided free accommodation to Ukrainian citizens in over 200 hotel rooms.

Lithuania will begin issuing only digital temporary residence permits from the start of 2023. Similarly to changes implemented in response to COVID-19.

Specifications on changes regarding non-Ukrainian third-country nationals who apply for temporary protection were also updated. For example, in the Netherlands, support for remigration was introduced for certain groups of third-country nationals.

In Portugal, non-Ukrainian third-country nationals who hold a temporary residence permit or a long-term visa are excluded from access to TPD benefits. Amendments also provided updates to the rights of family members of third-country nationals.

Legislative and policy changes were reported at national level in several EMN Member and Observer Countries. Germany’s Federal Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, signed the Indo-German Migration and Mobility Agreement in December 2022. It is the first comprehensive agreement in the field of migration that Germany has concluded with a country of origin, and is anticipated to serve as a model for future agreements of this kind. In Sweden, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, announced a paradigm shift in Swedish migration policy in his statement of government policy. Some of the planned reforms include granting temporary residence permits as a general rule, stricter conditions for family reunification, stricter requirements for Swedish citizenship, increased opportunities to withdraw residence permits and further incentives for voluntary returns. In Spain, the migration budget increased by 29%, reaching a total of € 814 million. More than € 630 million will be allocated to concerted actions, which will allow for changing the finance model in the Reception System and the Humanitarian Care Programme. Georgia adopted a new Migration Strategy Action Plan for 2023 and the Development Strategy of Georgia: Vision 2030, including goals to facilitate labour migration and strengthen the Georgian diaspora abroad. Moldova approved the management of migration flows, asylum and integration of foreigners Programme for 2022-2025 to ensure safe migration and boost the quality of services provided.

Legal amendments and new procedures came into force in several countries regarding residence permits and the employment of third-country nationals. In Austria, third-country nationals can now file an initial application for a Red-White-Red card in Austrian territory after their lawful entry and during their lawful stay in Austria. Several amendments and regulations also went into effect regarding the employment of third-country nationals, such as determining shortage occupations for skilled workers and specifying quotas for temporary employment in various sectors. Key results on the labour market situation of migrants were released by Statistics Austria in a press release.  Ireland announced the transition to a new employment-permit based system for non-EEA fishers, and also that additional funding was allocated to projects providing employment support for migrants. The Migration Department in Lithuania prepared to begin using an external service provider that collects foreigners’ applications for a temporary residence permit from the start of 2023. Luxembourg set a new minimum salary for certain categories of highly qualified third-country national workers (€ 67 824 per year). Spain introduced new procedures for hiring workers in their country of origin that opens the possibility of promoting circular migration projects in all sectors of activity. It also approved a law (Startup law) which has introduced improvements in the residence permit regime, with the aim of improving the attraction of talent and foreign investment. Montenegro updated regulations on issuing temporary residence permits for digital nomads.

Updates on integration through education were reported in several countries. Italy, Spain, and Sweden established initiatives to boost integration through sports in schools and/or reception centres. Georgia facilitated the enrolment of foreign students in Georgian universities and expanded language learning services for asylum seekers. Montenegro also organised language and cultural orientation courses to asylum seekers.

Increased coordination and new protocols to boost integration were announced. Croatia announced a new protocol of procedure for the integration process of persons granted international protection, which will increase cooperation between local and regional authorities, as well as between public institutions and organisations. Croatia is also building a database of statistical data on the inclusions of persons granted international protection as part of the INCLuDE project. Estonia approved a cohesion plan for 2022-2023 with the aim of preventing possible conflicts and building strong relations between communities, particularly the large number of Ukrainian refugees who fled the war. Italy expanded the scope of its working agreement with Canada on bilateral youth mobility for training and work. Luxembourg reported continued efforts to raise awareness and motivate non-Luxembourgers to participate in municipal elections. Malta made services more accessible and streamlined through a new app as part of the #IBelong Programme, with the aim of facilitating integration into the labour market through language and cultural orientation training.

Asylum applications continued to increase, reaching their highest levels since 2015. For the first time since 2015/16, asylum applications reached or exceeded the 100 000 mark in the EU+ for several consecutive months, starting in September, as reported by the EUAA. Asylum applications and registrations for temporary protection together surpassed five million before the end of 2022.

Several EU Member States reported increasing their reception capacity. In Belgium, the government granted additional funding to the Brussels Capital to cover the costs of emergency accommodation and several reception centres were created, as for some months there has been a struggle to find sufficient accommodation. France reinforced the capacity of temporary accommodation centres by creating an additional 1 000 new places for vulnerable refugees who lack autonomy, accompanied with social support towards employment and housing. Luxembourg reopened a temporary accommodation structure with a capacity of 190 places for a mixed population.

In October, Germany launched a federal admission programme for particularly vulnerable Afghans, where the prospect of admission to Germany was extended to over 40 000 particularly vulnerable Afghans and their eligible family members.

New procedures were introduced for processing international protection applications. Ireland established procedures to accelerate the application process. All applicants now need to complete a preliminary interview and complete a questionnaire regarding their application. In Sweden, the government tasked the Swedish Migration Agency to reduce the number of quota of refugees from 5 000 per year to 900 in 2023. Regarding applications from Afghanistan, being a woman is now taken as sufficient grounds to be granted protection in Sweden.

In Italy, a new computer application (the SMAcc platform) was released that will provide access to shared assessment tools and methodologies, as well as supply a national database to monitor activities taking place at national level.

In Spain, a new protocol was introduced to combat cases of gender-based violence. In Georgia, awareness raising was conducted in the asylum seekers’ reception centre on the issues of gender-based violence.

In Georgia and Montenegro, exchange of good practices continued. Representatives from both countries visited Finland to discuss best practices on efficient asylum procedures, reception standards, integration, and sustainable solutions. Georgia hosted an official delegation from Tajikistan to introduce its asylum system and share good practices in the area of international protection. In Montenegro, an EUAA regional training was held for employees from the national asylum department.

Figure 1: Asylum applications in the EU-27, Q3 2022 (January-September 2022)

Source: Eurostat [migr_asyappctzm], total asylum applicants, extracted on 12 January 2023.

Increases in unaccompanied minors were reported in Croatia and Italy. In France, departments that welcomed more unaccompanied minors in 2021 than in 2020 will receive additional funding from the State.

In Bulgaria, internal rules for the organization of the accommodation of unaccompanied minors who have received international protection in foster care, social or integrated health and social services for residential care, were drawn up and approved by the State Agency for Refugees. They further develop the continual involvement and the coordinated efforts of all concerned institutions.

Italy increased the role of schools in the integration of unaccompanied minors through a newly approved language literacy and educational project.

Unaccompanied minors continued to be relocated from Greece to Portugal through the European Programme of Voluntary Relocation.

In Spain, a year after reform of the Regulation of the Aliens Law, more unaccompanied minors had been assisted with inclusion and employment than anticipated. 

Georgia reported on progress made in the field of statelessness. This included information campaigns that continued in cooperation with UNHCR, such as the #IBelong Campaign, serving to identify and register stateless persons; the approval of a Statelessness Action Plan for 2023; and a fifty-percent reduction in the cost to receive an electronic residence card for persons holding a stateless status in Georgia. 

Projects, trainings, and campaigns were launched. Italy launched 21 aid projects for victims of human trafficking. Malta and Georgia held national-simulation-based trainings on trafficking in human beings. In Malta, this served to strengthen regional cooperation on the victim’s referral process for better protection. In Georgia, the training was conducted in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice, with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Swiss Embassy in Georgia, and involved investigators, prosecutors, labour inspectors, psychologists, social workers and other staff working with victims. Slovenia launched an online campaign with the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) and the Network of National Anti-trafficking Coordinators from South-Eastern Europe (NATC SEE) to raise awareness on vulnerability to human trafficking among those fleeing the war in Ukraine. 

Action Plans and structural change were presented by several countries to boost anti-trafficking initiatives at national level. Italy and Georgia adopted new National Anti-Trafficking Action Plans. France created an office to combat migrant smuggling (Office de lutte contre le trafic illicite de migrants - OLTIM). Malta began working on creating a centralised mechanism for the collection of information on cases of trafficking in human beings.

Events and trainings provided insights on developing appropriate measures and on understanding the concept of vulnerability. Croatia held a roundtable discussion where specific actions that have been taken against human trafficking were delineated additional concrete measures to implement were identified. Hungary held an event for the EU Anti-Trafficking Day that brought insights into protection structures of countries along migration routes. Greece held a training to enable reception staff understand the concept of vulnerability and to identify vulnerable persons, using modules designed by the EUAA. Greece also held a training to support healthcare and frontline service providers to identity, safely refer and provide gender- and trauma-sensitive services for trafficked persons. The project falls under the AMELIE project, which is being implemented in Greece, Belgium, Germany and Italy. In Georgia, IOM conducted a training in coordination with the Ministry of Justice for border control officials on trafficking in human beings to support state institutions involved with land, air and sea border crossings.

Two significant European Court of Justice (ECJ) rulings on returns were made concerning procedures in the Netherlands.

On 8 November 2022, the ECJ ruled that judicial checks of detention decisions are compulsory; from now on the national court will check whether the conditions of lawfulness of the detention of a third-country national recognised under EU law have been complied with on the basis of the case file provided.

On 22 November 2022, the ECJ ruled that a third-country national suffering from a serious illness cannot be the subject of a return decision if there are well-founded fears for a swift, extensive and irreversible aggravation of the pain because there are no fitting healthcare provisions available in the country of origin. The case concerned a Russian patient with leukaemia in the Netherlands using cannabis as pain medication, which is not legal in Russia.

Cyprus conducted a training course on forced return escorts to prepare staff for different kinds of return operations in coordination with Frontex.

The Reintegration and Assistance (RIAT) tool continued to facilitate post-return reintegration at national level. Italy set up RIAT services in 16 Italian police headquarters as part of the pilot phase. Germany reported that the implementation of their Joint Reintegration Programme and the Reintegration Assistance Tool (RIAT) continued and has so far had positive results in providing reintegration support to returnees.

Return operations were carried out in Greece, Portugal, and Georgia. Readmissions were received in Georgia and Montenegro. During the reporting period, Montenegro took steps to sign readmission agreements with the most common countries of origin of irregular migrants, including Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Morocco and Algeria.

The Czech Republic held the Prague Process Ministerial Conference on migration under the auspices of the Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU, where the Prague Process returned to Prague after thirteen years and ministers of participating countries approved a political declaration and action plan that will shape the framework of cooperation for 2023-2027. Portugal held a meeting to share updates on the implementation of the Agreement on Mobility with other Member States and discuss how to strengthen the mobility within Portuguese-speaking countries.

Projects were launched or continued in the Czech Republic, Italy, Georgia and Moldova. The Czech Republic prepared to launch three projects in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Libya and Ukraine, in cooperation with ICMPD to support border management. Italy continued the implementation of MobiTRE, a project supporting micro and small enterprises in Tunisia and raising awareness on the risks of irregular migration. Additionally, a three-year project was launched to strengthen the capacity of the Ivorian authorities in border and irregular migration management. Georgia launched a programme with ICMPD called “High-Profile Diaspora Engagement” that aims to increase the involvement of high-profile diaspora representatives in the development processes of the country. They also announced the launch of grants for three flagship diaspora programmes: 1) “Support for Diaspora Initiatives,” 2) “Become a Young Ambassador of your Country,” 3) “Supporting Georgian Dancing and Singing Groups Abroad.” Moldova continued implementing the project “CareFor” funded by the Polish Ministry of the Interior and Administration, that aims to contribute to a functioning and human rights compliant migration management system in Moldova while addressing some of the more immediate needs caused by the unprecedented inflow of displaced people from Ukraine.

Croatia announced that certificates will be issued to foreigners residing in Croatia who do not have Croatian citizenship or are considered stateless, particularly to regulate the stay of those who have scholarships to learn the Croatian language and/or who are descendants of Croatian emigrants.

Border management and control measures increased. Croatia passed legislation on state border control as part the application process to become a full participant in the Schengen area. Lithuania and Poland increased security at their borders with Belarus through increased border patrols and the construction of physical barriers. Sweden prolonged border controls on their internal borders until May 2023.

Monitoring systems reported in several countries played a role identifying irregular migrants, and the upscaling of monitoring systems is planned. Croatia continued implementing a monitoring mechanism in line with the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, that supports the screening of external borders, independent monitoring of police treatment of irregular migrants and international protection seekers. Slovenia reported identifying migrants under train carriages using detection cameras. Montenegro continued monitoring migrants in transit through Montenegro. One of the key priorities of the Ministry of Interior is to establish a system for the electronic identification and registration of migrants, which will facilitate the exchange of information with other countries. Montenegro is working with the European Commission and Frontex to assess IT and communication infrastructures to ensure synergies between systems, such as the EURODAC system.

The Czech Republic submitted a draft law amending the Asylum Act and the Act on the Residence of Foreigners on the Territory of the Czech Republic has been submitted to the Government. The draft law transposes, among other things, the new EU Blue Card Directive, which concerns the conditions of entry and residence of third-country nationals for the purpose of highly qualified employment.

• EMN inform on the Application of the Temporary Protection Directive (Scope and Registration)
• EMN inform on Arrangements for accommodation and housing for beneficiaries of temporary protection
• EMN inform on Access to services for beneficiaries of temporary protection
• EMN inform on Measures to support transition to adulthood for unaccompanied minors
• EMN inform on Prospects for displaced persons in non-EU first reception and transit countries

• EMN study on the Integration of international protection applicants in the labour market
• EMN study on Migration and displacement related to climate change, environmental degradation and natural disasters
• EMN inform on Accompanied children’s right to be heard in the international protection procedures
• EMN inform on Resettlement, humanitarian admissions and community sponsorship programmes