I thank committee members for making time available today to discuss these motions which relate to three proposals for Council decisions in respect of EU funding instruments, namely, phase three of the European Refugee Fund, a European fund for the integration of third country nationals and a European Return Fund. The European Integration Fund covers the period 2007 to 2013 while the other two relate to the years 2008 to 2013. These proposals are covered by Title IV of the EC treaty.
As the joint committee is aware, under Article 3 of the fourth protocol to the Amsterdam Treaty, the State has three months from the date a proposal is sent to the Council to notify the President of the Council that it wishes to take part in its adoption and application. As most of the three month period in respect of these instruments will elapse during the forthcoming recess of both Houses of the Oireachtas, I am seeking the approval of both Houses at this stage to exercise the relevant options as required under Article 29.4.6° of the Constitution.
I will clarify the background to the proposals. The three instruments are part of a series of four which relate to the framework programme for solidarity and management of migration flows which arise from communications sent by the Commission to the Council in 2004 on the policy context for future financial interventions. Building on the results of the 1999 Tampere programme, in November 2004 the European Council adopted a multi-annual programme called the Hague programme on strengthening freedom, security and justice in the European Union. Among the objectives set out in the programme are the further development of common migration and asylum policies and the establishment of an integrated management system for controls at the European Union's external borders.
The adoption of the Hague programme has coincided with the preparation of the Commission's proposals for the new financial perspectives or financial envelope for the EU budget which has allowed it to ensure coherence between the political priorities defined in the Hague programme and the financial instruments supporting their implementation in the period 2007 to 2013. In this regard, the Commission has proposed a framework programme for solidarity and management of migration flows aimed at addressing the financial burden arising from the integrated management of the European Union's external border and fthe implementation of common policies on asylum and migration.
A figure of some €5.86 billion has been proposed by the Commission for the framework programme broken down into the four funds as follows: European Refugee Fund — Phase 3, €1.1 billion; European Integration Fund, €1.7 billion; European Return Fund, €750 million; and the European Borders Fund, in respect of which we are not exercising an option, €2.15 billion. The three proposals before the joint committee will provide the legal basis for the allocation of the moneys involved between member states.
For the information of the joint committee, the recent European Council failed to obtain agreement on the financial perspectives package at its meeting on 16 and 17 June which, by all accounts, was tough and acrimonious. The Council requested the incoming British Presidency to advance discussions with a view to resolving all the elements necessary for achieving overall agreement as soon as possible.
I will now deal briefly with each of the three proposals and say why they should be supported. The European Refugee Fund, ERF, was established in September 2000 for the period 2000 to 2004, its purpose being, inter alia, to support member states in receiving asylum seekers, refugees and displaced persons. The fund supports projects in the area of reception such as the provision of reception facilities, integration and voluntary return. Member state allocations were made on an annual basis, based primarily on the numbers of asylum seekers and refugees arriving in a particular state. Ireland has been allocated some €4.2 million from the first phase of the ERF. Overall, some €216 million was allocated EU-wide. The responsible authority for the administration of the fund in Ireland is the Reception and Integration Agency.
The second phase of the fund which covers the period 2005 to 2010 was established in December 2004 following successful negotiations during Ireland's Presidency of the European Union. Some €185 million has been allocated for the second phase which represents the Commission's total contribution to actions co-financed in member states. Ireland's share of this allocation for 2005 is €1.2 million. The Council decision to establish a third phase of the fund will, if agreed, see the decision establishing the second phase repealed with effect from 1 January 2008.
The second phase of the fund aims to build on the experiences and successes of the first phase following a period of exhaustive consultation by the Commission with all relevant parties involved with the fund, including member states. A number of significant changes were incorporated into the decision establishing ERF 2 enabling a more strategic approach to the use of the fund and ensuring a bias towards obtaining as much added value as possible at both national and EU level.
The proposal for a third phase of the ERF, one of the instruments before the joint committee, is almost identical to the second phase in its framework and scope. A proposal for a third phase has been brought forward now principally to ensure the ERF can form part of the general programme on solidarity and management of migration flows proposed under the new EU financial perspectives.
There are three differences between the Commission's proposal for a third phase of the fund and the Council decision which established the second phase. These are the duration of the fund, from 1 January 2008 until 31 December 2013; the level of EU funds allocated — the proposed allocation for the third phase of the fund being €1.184 billion — and the fact that the fund can no longer be used to co-finance actions aimed at the repatriation of asylum seekers because they will be dealt with separately through the European Return Fund. Funding is allocated on the basis of co-financing between the European Union and member states, with up to 50% of project costs being met from the fund.
During the first phase of the ERF, funding has gone to a wide range of organisations, including well established groups such as the Irish Refugee Council as well as smaller ethnic minority-led organisations such as the African Refugee Network and African Solidarity Centre. The State's allocation was awarded to 65 projects. Some €1.3 million was awarded to 21 projects under the reception measure, €2.4 million to 40 projects under the integration measure and €400,000 to four projects under the voluntary return measure.
Individual awards ranged from €3,000 to €150,000, the latter being in respect of the setting up of a care and rehabilitation centre for survivors of torture by the Spiritan Asylum Seeker Initiative, SPIRASI, on Dublin's North Circular Road. That the majority of projects funded during the first phase of the ERF were integration projects rather than projects in the field of reception reflects the fact that the reception needs of asylum seekers such as accommodation, food and health care are already comprehensively provided for by the Government's policy of direct provision.
Typical actions which have been funded include providing care and rehabilitation for asylum seekers who have been victims of violence, rape and torture or who may be traumatised having come from a region of conflict; the provision of drop-in centres to provide information and support for asylum seekers at a local community level; and co-ordination of integration services through links with smaller organisations.
The European fund for the integration of third country nationals is a new fund aimed at supporting the efforts of member states in enabling third country nationals to settle and take part in all aspects of European society. It arises from the Hague programme in which the Council called for greater co-ordination of national integration policies. It will contribute to the development of national integration strategies for third country nationals which take into account the basic principles for immigrant integration policy in the European Union as agreed by the Council on 19 November 2004.
The specific objectives of the fund are set out in Article 3 and will facilitate the organisation and implementation of admission procedures, introduction programmes and activities for third country nationals; increase the civic, cultural and political participation of third country nationals in the host society; and strengthen the ability of the host society to adjust to increasing diversity. The target group will include third country nationals who have obtained an authorisation issued by the authorities of a member state to stay legally on its territory, be it for employment, self-employment, family reunification or any other purpose set out in national law. The decision establishes the fund for the period from 2007 to 2013.
The proposed allocation for the fund is €1.7 billion. Each member state will receive a fixed amount of €300,000 from the fund's annual allocation. The new member states and member states which accede to the European Union during the period 2007 to 2013 will receive a fixed amount of €500,000 per annum. Co-funding to a maximum of 50% will be available.
The remainder of the available annual resources will be broken down between member states on the basis of 40% in proportion to the average of the total number of legally residing third country nationals in member states in the previous three years, and 60% in proportion to the number of third country nationals who have obtained an authorisation issued by the authorities of a member state to reside legally on its territory in the previous three years.
Detailed information on actions eligible for support is outlined in Article 4 of the proposal. Included among the activities are preparation of third country nationals admitted for integration purposes into the host society in a better way by supporting pre-travel measures such as information packages; developing and improving induction programmes for newly arrived third country nationals; building sustainable organisational structures for integration strategies and reinforcing the capacity to co-ordinate national integration strategies; and increasing the acceptance of the phenomena of migration and admission programmes in the host society through awareness-raising campaigns.
I will now turn to the third instrument, a proposal to establish a European Return Fund for the period 2008 to 2013. The European return fund relates to the return of third country nationals who do not fulfil the conditions of entry to, presence in or residence on the territory of the European Union. The general objective of the fund is to support the efforts made by member states to improve the management of return in all its dimensions, including voluntary and forced returns, through the use of the concept of integrated management. Particular emphasis is laid on the sustainability of return and integration opportunities for returnees.
The proposed fund has three specific objectives. The first objective is the introduction and improvement of the organisation and implementation of integrated return management by member states. Eligible actions here include the establishment or improvement of stable and lasting co-operation with the countries to which the member states wish to return non-nationals illegally residing on their territory. This could, for example, result in travel documents being more easily acquired to enable returns to take place. The second objective of the fund is the enhancement of co-operation between member states in the framework of integrated return management and its implementation. Eligible actions here include the design of joint integrated return plans and their implementation, exchange of information and advice in returning vulnerable groups and seminars on best practice and so forth. The third objective of the fund is the promotion and effective return of common standards on return.
Funding is €0.759 billion and the level of co-financing will be set at 50%. Each member state will receive a minimum of €300,000 from the fund's annual allocation, the ten accession states will receive a minimum of €500,000 and the remainder will be divided as follows: 70% in proportion to the total number of third country nationals illegally residing or having illegally resided in the territory of a member state and who are subject to a return decision under national and Community law over the previous three years and 30% in proportion to the number of third country nationals who have left the member state following an administrative or judicial order to leave, undertaken voluntarily or otherwise, over the previous three years.
We do not have to wait until 2008 to get a clear picture of how the fund will work. This is because, during our presidency, the Council of Ministers approved under its existing budgetary arrangements a sum of €30 million for what it termed preparatory actions for the new return fund. A total of €15 million will be allocated in the period 2006 to 2007 and the other half of the funding will be allocated in the period 2007 to 2008. Projects will begin in early 2006 and will last for 18 months. The operation of the return fund will be based on an evaluation of the results of the preparatory actions. I will leave the rest of my presentation and allow members to ask questions about it.