Context
EU Member States have a shared responsibility to welcome asylum seekers, beneficiaries of international protection and beneficiaries of temporary protection and provide access to different rights and services such as housing and accommodation, in accordance with the relevant EU asylum acquis. The challenges of ensuring adequate reception conditions, including housing capacity and access to different social services for people with a migrant background as well as the need to ensure a smooth transition from temporary housing solutions to long-term housing are important and Member States face different challenges in this regard.
Supporting Member States to tackle these challenges will also help the implementation of different legal pathways to protection, notably resettlement and humanitarian admission, including humanitarian corridors, that provide safe routes for people to access protection. It will further help facilitate important European Initiatives such as Safe Homes and the implementation of the Safe Homes guidance. At the same time, the support to be provided will be coupled with support for access to relevant social services and, in particular, employment, education and health care.
Objectives
To support Member States reform, upscale and enhance reception systems, in line with the EU asylum acquis, in order to cater for the needs of people with a migrant background, with a focus on asylum seekers and beneficiaries of international and temporary protection, as well as resettled refugees and people admitted through humanitarian admission programmes (e.g. humanitarian corridors). Support will also facilitate the implementation of important EU initiatives such as Safe Homes and will facilitate access to adequate related social services, including mainstream ones. Existing EUAA support will be taken into account and synergies will be sought.
Support Measures
EU Member States (i.e. national, regional and local authorities) may choose for technical support under the following [non-exhaustive] list of measures:
- Situational analysis to assess existing policies, institutional frameworks and relevant reception structures, as well as mapping of main challenges;
- Analysis of relevant regulatory frameworks and identification of areas of intervention;
- Identification of existing good practices and gap analysis;
- Recommendations and capacity building support for the development of integration strategies at national, regional and local level;
- Recommendations for setting up or upscaling existing reception structures (including social housing, accommodation centres, mobile ways of accommodation or private accommodation schemes such as Safe Homes);
- Recommendations to support the transition from short-term (emergency) housing in reception centres or temporary private hosting towards more sustainable long-term housing solutions, included non-segregated housing;
- Recommendations for improving an integrated approach to migrant inclusion;
- Recommendations for improving “community sponsorship” initiatives or other similar schemes to facilitate integration pathways;
- Recommendations for setting up relevant coordination structures for concerned stakeholders, including migrant-led civil society organisations;
- Recommendations for improving the absorption of relevant EU funding;
- Piloting the implementation of proposed recommendations/strategies/action plans and standard operating procedures;
- Capacity building of administration to implement proposed recommendations and design relevant policies for the future, including through relevant trainings.
