On Wednesday 9 December, an agreement on a budget of €9.882 billion for the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund for 21-27 was reached between the European Parliament and the Council.
This fund aims to strengthen the common asylum policy, to develop legal migration in line with the economic and social needs of the Member States, to promote effective integration and social inclusion of third-country nationals and to combat illegal immigration while ensuring safe and dignified return and readmission for those who do not have the right to stay in the EU.

At Parliament’s request, the funds should also aim at enhancing “solidarity and responsibility sharing between the member states, in particular towards those most affected by migration and asylum challenges, including through practical cooperation”.

Most of the funds (63.5%) should be allocated to programmes that are jointly managed by the EU and the member states, whose entitlements will vary depending, among other factors, on the number of third-country nationals residing in the country, the asylum claims received, the return decisions taken and the effective returns carried out.

The other 36.5% will be directly managed by the EU and dedicated, among other actions, to emergency assistance, resettlement and humanitarian admission from non-EU countries and to relocate asylum-seekers and refugees to other EU member states, “as part of solidarity efforts”.

In addition, while in 2014-2020 countries did not receive funds for humanitarian admission, they will now obtain €6.000 for every person they welcome under this mechanism (€8.000 if it is a vulnerable person).