Migration and borders: Commission awards additional €305 million to Member States under pressure

This week, the European Commission i has made available an additional €305 million in emergency assistance to support migration and border management in Greece, Italy, Cyprus and Croatia.

The funding will support efforts to increase reception capacity, protect victims of human trafficking and strengthen border surveillance and management capacity.

Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs and Citizenship Dimitris Avramopoulos i said: “The Commission is committed to continue supporting Member States under migratory pressure. The additional €305 million awarded this week to several countries will address urgent needs by ensuring that new arrivals are accommodated adequately and have access to food and water, that the safety and security of the most vulnerable is guaranteed, and that border controls are strengthened where needed.”

The emergency funding will be provided under the Commission's Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) and the Internal Security Fund (ISF), and is part of the €10.8 billion for migration, border management and internal security already mobilised by the Commission for the period 2014-20.

Greece

The Commission is making €289 million available to support migration management in Greece. Funding will be allocated to:

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  Rental accommodation and allowances: €190 million will go to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR i) to ensure the UNHCR-run Emergency Support to Integration and Accommodation (ESTIA) programme can be continued. ESTIA provides rental accommodation for up to 25,000 asylum seekers and refugees as well as monthly cash allowances for up to 70,000 persons. UNHCR will also receive another €5 million to further step up the reception capacity in the new open reception facilities on the Greek mainland, through the provision and distribution of 400 pre-fabricated containers.
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  Reception conditions: €61 million will go to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM i), and the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund i (UNICEF) to allow for the continuation of on-site support programmes in reception facilities in the mainland. This includes access to healthcare and non-formal education, dedicated safe zones for unaccompanied minors as well as training for operational staff.
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  Search and rescue: The Hellenic Coast Guard has been awarded €33 million to support the running costs of maritime awareness activities in the Aegean and help ensure safe disembarkation and efficient processing following search and rescue operations.
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  Winterisation: To support preparedness efforts, the IOM will receive an additional €357,000 to provide blankets, winter jackets and winterisation kits for reception facilities in the Greek islands and in the Evros region.

The Commission has now made more than €2 billion of funding available to Greece for migration management, of which nearly €1.5 billion is emergency financial support. (See the factsheet for more information).

Italy

The Commission is awarding €5.3 million in emergency funding to the Italian authorities to help protect victims of human trafficking in the context of migration. Through a pilot project in accommodation facilities for asylum seekers in the Piemonte region, the funding will be used to help identify victims of human trafficking, and encourage them to make use of available support.

Since the beginning of the migration crisis, the Commission has made almost €950 million available to support migration and border management in Italy. This funding includes over €225 million in emergency support and €724 million already allocated to Italy under its national programmes of the Asylum Migration and Integration Fund and the Internal Security Fund 2014-2020 (see the factsheet for more information).

Cyprus

The Commission is awarding €3.1 million to Cyprus to step up its reception capacity and transform the temporary emergency centre "Pournaras" into a fully-fledged first reception centre. The funding will ensure that the centrecan function as a "one-stop shop", operating on a 24/7 basis. Services provided will include medical examination, registration, fingerprinting, screening, information provision, and the possibility to submit an asylum application.

The emergency assistance is part of the Commission's efforts to reinforce migration management support for Cyprus after the country has seen arrival figures increase significantly in the course of 2018. The new funding comes on top of almost €40 million allocated to migration management for the period 2014-2020, and nearly €1 million of emergency funding for migration awarded in 2014. The European Asylum Support office is currently deploying 29 caseworkers to support Cyprus in clearing the backlog of asylum applications due to increased arrivals in recent years.

Croatia

The Commission is awarding €6.8 million to Croatia to help reinforce border management at the EU i's external borders, in full respect of EU rules. The funding will help strengthen border surveillance and law enforcement capacity by covering the operational costs of 10 border police stations through the provision of the daily allowances, over-time compensation and equipment. A monitoring mechanism will be put in place to ensure that all measures applied at the EU external borders are proportionate and are in full compliance with fundamental rights and EU asylum laws.

Today's award brings the overall emergency funding for migration and border management allocated to Croatia by the Commission to almost €23.2 million. This comes on top of nearly €108 million allocated to Croatia under the national programmes of the Asylum Migration and Integration Fund and the Internal Security Fund 2014-2020.

Background

EU operational and financial support has been instrumental in helping Member States to address the migration challenge since 2015.

EU support included unprecedented financial support to partners from the EU budget - not only national authorities but international organisations and non-governmental organisations as well. From the original allocations for 2014-20 of €6.9 billion to the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF), and the Internal Security Fund (ISF - Borders and Police instruments), an additional €3.9 billion was mobilised to reach €10.8 billion for migration, border management and internal security.

Moreover, learning from past experience, and given that migration and border management will continue to be a challenge in the future, the Commission also proposed to significantly reinforce funding for migration and border management under the next EU budget, from 2021 to 2027.

For more information

Communication - Managing Migration in all its Aspects: Progress under the European Agenda on Migration

Factsheet - EU Financial Support to Greece

Factsheet - EU Financial Support to Italy

Video - ESTIA Project: Emergency Support to Integration and Accommodation

IP/18/6884