ICMCEUROPE WelcometoEurope.pdf (5.89 MB)

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Chapter V - Resettlement in Europe: Rising Slowly but Surely
under the North Africa RPP region,
from within their existing resettlement
quotas, and Belgium resettled 25
refugees from Shousha as part of
an ad-hoc resttlement initiative. At
March 2013, of the total of 3,733
refugees from Shousha (Tunisia) and
Salloum (Egypt) camps accepted for
resettlement, 802 refugees have been
resettled to Member States. 27
4.5. RPP in the Middle East
In 2012, the JHA Council approved the
Commission’s proposal to establish an
RPP in response to the Syrian crisis.
Due to be finalised by the end of 2013,
the aim of the RPP will be to support
Jordan and Lebanon to develop sustainable
capacities to respond to the
crisis in the medium and longer term.
The RPP will focus on promoting local
integration, and is also expected to
have a resettlement component.
5. THE EUROPEAN
REFUGEE FUND (ERF)
- A TOOL TO INCREASE
RESETTLEMENT IN THE EU
State participation in resettlement is
voluntary. To promote resettlement
in Europe, the European Commission
27 Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, the
Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden
has introduced a system of funding
and financial incentives for states’
resettlement activities under the
European Refugee Fund (ERF) 2008-
2013. 28 Indeed, funding remains the
main mechanism through which the
EU promotes that more Member
States engage in resettlement, and
encourages existing resettlement
countries to increase their quotas.
ERF funding has also become a vital
tool for developing a European policy
framework for resettlement.
5.1. ERF funding for resettlement
Virtually all types of Member State
activities related to resettlement can
be financed under the ERF, including
those taking place both pre-departure
in countries of asylum and after arrival
in Europe. For the purposes of the ERF,
the European Commission defines
resettlement as:
‘The process whereby, on a request
from UNHCR based on a person’s need
for international protection, thirdcountry
nationals or stateless persons
are transferred from a third country to
a Member State where they are permitted
to reside with refugee status
(within the meaning of Article 2(d)
of the European Union ‘Qualification
28 The ERF III, established by Decision No 573/2007/EC.
The ERF is part of the general programme Solidarity
and Management of Migration of Migration Flows .