Europese Raad wil nieuwe regels voor EU-lidstaten die vluchtelingen van buiten de EU opvangen (en)

COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

Brussels, 8 March 2012

PRESSE 62

Common EU resettlement priorities for 2013 and new rules on EU funding

The Council adopted today a decision which establishes common EU resettlement priorities for 2013 and paves the way for new rules concerning the financial support that EU member states receive through the European Refugee Fund for the resettlement of refugees from third countries (). It is expected that the European Parliament will give its green light to the text at the end of March 2012

According to the decision, member states will receive a fixed amount for each person resettled from one of the following categories:

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  persons from a country or region designated for the implementation of a Regional Protection Programme;
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  persons belonging to a vulnerable groups, such as women and children at risk, unaccompanied minors, survivors of violence and torture, persons having serious medical needs that can be addressed only through resettlement, persons in need of emergency resettlement or urgent resettlement for legal or physical protection needs;
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  persons indicated on the list of specific common EU priorities for 2013 \

This list includes: Congolese refugees in the Great Lakes Region (Burundi, Malawi, Rwanda, Zambia); Refugees from Iraq in Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan; Afghan refugees in Turkey, Pakistan, Iran; Somali refugees in Ethiopia; Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Malaysia and Thailand; Eritrean refugees in Eastern Sudan

The general rule is that member states will receive a lump sum of EUR 4000 for each person resettled according to the agreed priorities, as is currently the case. The following two exceptions are new: member states who apply for financial support from the European Refugee Fund for the first time will receive a lump sum of EUR 6000 per resettled person. Member states who have already received EU support once in the course of the previous years will get a lump sum of EUR 5000 per resettled person

To facilitate the calculation of funding needs through the European Refugee Fund for 2013, member states are asked to provide the Commission by 1 May 2012 with an estimate of the number of persons per category they plan to resettle in 2013