Audit of emergency situations related to migration and asylum

1. Audit of emergency situations related to migration and asylum Danièle Lamarque, Member of the European Court of Auditors Page 27

2. EU migration and asylum policy Page 27 • Migration policies cover a wide range of issues (mobility, security, development) and situations (legal migration, asylum seekers, irregular migration) • The migration crisis of 2014-2015 challenged the EU and its Member States in their capacity to handle all the aspects of the problem: Greece and Italy were disproportionately burdened, the relocation of asylum seekers among Member states unevenly and onlypartially worked, partnerships with countries of origin could not provide sustainable solutions

3. ECA’s audits Page 27 The Court of Auditors selected migration and asylum as top priorities of its strategic working programme Several performance reports were dedicated to this topic - Special report 09/2016: EU external migration spending in Southern Mediterranean and Eastern Neighbourhood countries until 2014 - Special report 06/2017: EU response to the refugee crisis: the « hotspot » approach - Special report 27/2018: The Facility for Refugees in Turkey: helpful support, but improvements needed to deliver more value for money - Briefing paper 2018: the integration of migrants from outside the EU - A new audit is under preparation on EU Migration management: Hotspots and beyond

4. TheAudit on the External migration spending Page 27 Scope: the spending on external migration in the Southern Mediterranean and Eastern Neighbourhood countries (the EU’s first geographical priority) We verified : - if this spending had clear objectives: we reviewed all programmes and instruments involved in migration issues and checked the consistency of their objectives with the migration policy; we verified if the available funds were allocated to priorities - If it achieved the expected results, namely maximising the beneficial effects of migration on development, and facilitating return and readmission - If it was well coordinated between the EU services and with the Member states: we analysed the governance arrangements and the coordination between the Commission and the Member states

5. Our findings Page 27 A wide range of programmes or instruments whicheach have their own objectives Absence of a clear strategy determining the contributionof these instruments to the migration policy No precise data available on the amounts spent by these different instruments The EU funding was fragmented over a large geographical area and broad thematic priorities which limited its impact We found weaknesses in the monitoring system and the indicators used In 2/3 of the projects the results were only partially satisfactory The governance arrangements were too complex and the coordination between the Commission and the Member states was challenging

6. Our recommendations Page 27 Clarify objectives, develop, expand and improve the performance measurement framework and focus available financial resources on clearly defined and quantified target priorities Develop an appropriate coding in the Commission’s information systems for monitoring purposes Improve project preparation and selection Further consolidate and clarify the link between development and migration Strenghteninternal and external dialogue to improve coordination

7. The audit of the « hotspot » approach Page 27 Rationale: the hotspot approach is a critical part of the management of the migration chain, introduced in order to assist Greece and Italy in coping with the massive arrival of migrants and examining their rights to the refugee status (the Dublin regulation imposes anexamination in the country of arrival) The audit focused on 2 main questions: - were the necessary hotspots well located, established in a timely manner and with sufficient capacity to address the needs, with the provision of adequate support services, necessary coordination mechanisms and adequate monitoring procedures? - was the hotspot approach effective in managing the flow of incoming migrants, by enabling the full identification, registration and fingerprinting of migrants, and the timely channelling of migrants into the relevant follow-up processes (asylum, relocation, return)? 5 hotspots were visited

8. Conclusions, recommendations and follow-up Page 27 Migration hotspots are working but critical issues remain The Court made a number of recommendations for the Commission to assist the Member states in improving the hotspot approach as regards capacity, the deployment of experts or the improvement of the treatment of unaccompanied minors The European Parliament endorsed the Court’s conclusions, but asked the ECA to « consider a quick follow-up report on the functioning of the hotspots, adopting a broader scope by including also an analysis of the follow-up procedures, i.e. the asylum, relocation and return procedures » The hotspot approach, initially intended to be a temporary emergency measure, has evolved into a long-term instrument (pending asylum claims, ineffective relocation scheme within the EU, rate of return around 36%)

9. Briefing paper on theintegration of migrants from outside the EU Page 27 Migration and integration are closely interconnected The EU has played an important role in providing support and incentive to Member states The Court issued a briefing paper on integration which was discussed in Parliament It identified 7 challenges related to: - Reducing delays in the start of the integration process - Guaranteeing equal rights and non discrimination - Sound and comprehensive assessment of needs and funding - Commitment of the Member states to implement the Commission Action plan - Supporting all migrants across all relevant policy areas - Effective monitoring of integration outcomes - Effective coordination of funding at EU and national level

10. Page 27 Thank you for your attention daniele.lamarque@eca.europa.eu