EU developments and updates

New measures to support inclusive education and migration and border management

The European Commission adopted two financing decisions totalling EUR 560 million to support quality inclusive education and access to higher education for refugees in Turkey, and migration and border management. The new decisions are part of an additional EUR 3 billion announced by President von der Leyen in June 2021 to continue EU assistance to refugees in Turkey for the period 2021-2023. Find out about each measure by clicking the links below.

• Individual measure to support migration and border management in Turkey
• Individual measure to support inclusive quality education for refugees in Turkey

Supporting Member States in addressing the emergency at the EU's external border

The European Commission has proposed temporary legal and practical asylum and return measures to assist Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland in addressing the emergency at the EU's external border with Belarus. The measures aim to support these Member States in the management of the situation, in full respect of fundamental rights and international obligations, including the principle of non-refoulement.

Read the proposed council decision (available in EU’s 24 official languages), visit EUR-Lex webpage.

Visual overview of new funding instruments

In October 2021, the Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs published a new set of explanatory videos to provide a concise visual overview of the main objectives and actions supported by the three most recent 2021-2027 EU funding instruments: Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF), Border Management and Visa Instrument (BMVI), and Internal Security Fund (ISF).

To view the explanatory videos, visit the Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs website online news article.

National Developments

Croatia: On 9 December 2021 the Council concluded that Croatia has fulfilled the necessary conditions for the application of all parts of the Schengen acquis. This verification that the necessary conditions for the application of all parts of the Schengen acquis have been met by Croatia is a precondition for the Council to be able to take a subsequent decision allowing for the lifting of internal border controls.

Cyprus: On 4 October 2021 the Ministry of Labour approved a new decree simplifying access to the labour market for asylum seekers.  The latter are now allowed to be employed temporarily until the final approval of the Department of Labour, on condition that they provide an affirmation letter by their employer. To read the decree, visit the Ministry of Labour website (website working language is Greek) or directly access the document here.

Greece:  The multipurpose Reception and Identification Centers (MPRICs) on the islands of Leros, Kos and Samos became operational, with infrastructures covering fully the needs of TCNs. Albania and North Macedonia were added to the list of safe third countries for all applicants of international protection. Turkey is considered safe third country for applicants with origin in Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Somalia. Implementation of extraordinary asylum procedures in the borders (i.e. police and army support to asylum services in cases of mass arrivals) expired on 31 December 2021. A payment of an e-fee of 100€ for each family member for each asylum application subsequent to the first one was adopted.

Finland: The Ministry of the Interior has established a project to conduct a preliminary study concerning the need for amendments in the Aliens Act and how the reform should be implemented. The study will serve as the basis for a reform plan.

An additional project was set up to assess the possible need for legislative amendments to prepare for ‘hybrid influencing’ that exploits migration. Information related to the new project can be found on the Finnish Ministry of the Interior website.

Germany: On 7 December 2021 the coalition agreement for the newly formed Federal Government was . With regards to migration, the agreement foresees several points of action, such as strengthening the resettlement of third-country individuals, seeking agreements with countries of origin to enhance collaboration on legal pathways for migration and return activities, reducing secondary movements within the EU, and diversifying the pathways for legal migration based on different levels of qualification.

Italy: On 7 October 2021 the Permanent Conference for the relations between the State, the Regions and the Autonomous Provinces of Trento and Bolzano developed an agreement for the adoption of new National Guidelines on the identification, protection, assistance to victims of labour exploitation in agriculture. The guidelines were prepared by an inter-institutional technical group set up and coordinated by the General Directorate for Immigration and Social Integration of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies. State, Regions, Autonomous Provinces, and Local Authorities are committed to implementing the National Guidelines within six months and in close collaboration with law enforcement agencies, supervisory and inspection bodies, social partners, and civil society organisations.

The National Guidelines are available to read on the Ministry of Labour and Social Policies website.

Malta: In September 2021 the human trafficking portfolio was transferred from the Ministry for Home Affairs, National Security and Law Enforcement to the Ministry for Equality, Research and Innovation under the Anti-Human Trafficking Office within the Human Rights Directorate aiming at implementing government strategy in this field from a human rights element.

The Netherlands: On 15 December 2021 the new Government of the Netherlands presented its coalition agreement. In the area of migration, it reiterates the commitment to a just, humane, and effective asylum and migration policy, with an emphasis on well-managed migration. The government opted for a two-pillar approach which entails, strengthening legal migration and limiting irregular migration, and fighting misuse of immigration procedures and promoting return in cases of illegal stay.

Poland: The Office for Foreigners decided to give priority to cases of Afghans evacuees due to their pressing integration needs. Moreover, because of the situation on the Polish-Belarusian border, the Office for Foreigners has decided to also prioritise cases of individuals who apply for international protection after an illegal border crossing (mainly Iraqi applicants, especially those who lived in Kurdistan or Southern Iraq).

The Slovak Republic:  Following the adoption of the new Migration Policy of the Slovak Republic: Perspective until the Year 2025, the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family set out action plans with concrete tasks and measures to be implemented. These actions concern the areas of legal migration, integration, international protection, irregular migration, and the fight against trafficking in human beings.

Slovenia: On 31 December 2021 the Slovenian Presidency of the Council of the European Union officially ended. The Presidency focused intensively on negotiations relating to all legislative proposals stemming from the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, particularly the (recast) Eurodac (European asylum dactyloscopy (fingerprints) database) Regulation on the introduction of the collection of other biometric data for persons entering the EU. One of the biggest achievements of the presidency was the adoption of a common statement on the situation in Afghanistan during the extraordinary meeting of the Council of the EU on 31 August 2021. Read the full statement by visiting the European Council website. 

Spain: The Migration Budget was increased by 17%, to strengthen the state reception network and reinforce actions devoted to the development of legal pathways. In addition, further progress will be ensured in terms of digitalisation.

Sweden: Following the resignation of Stefan Löfven as Prime Minister of Sweden, a new social-democratic minority government took office on 30 November 2021, with Magdalena Andersson as Prime Minister. Anders Ygeman, former Minister for Energy and Digitalisation was appointed Minister for Integration and Migration, with Morgan Johansson, former Minister for Migration, becoming Minister for Justice and Home Affairs.

Georgia: On 15 November 2021, the European Commission adopted decision certifying that COVID-19 certificate issued by Georgia is equivalent to the EU Digital COVID Certificate. As a result, Georgia will be connected to the EU's system and their COVID certificates will be accepted under the same conditions as the EU Digital COVID Certificate. At the same time, Georgia accepted the EU Digital COVID Certificate for travel from the EU to Georgia.