4.15.1.1. Annual pledging exercise
In October 2022, the European Commission published its report on migration and asylum with the breakdown of pledges for the period 2021-2022.European Commission. (2022, October 6). Annexes to the communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the Report on Migration and Asylum. COM(2022) 740 final. https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/3a14b7f6-f816-4db6-a3d3-… In total, 15 countries agreed to resettle almost 30,000 refugees, in addition to about 37,000 Afghans who were at risk during that period. In reality, however, the number of refugees who were successfully resettled into the EU during 2021-2022 was considerably lower.European Commission. (2022, October 6). Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the Report on Migration and Asylum on the Report on Migration and Asylum. COM(2022) 740 final. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=COM:2022:740:F…
At the end of November 2022, following the High-Level Forum on Legal Pathways to Protection and Resettlement Cooperation,European Commission. (2022, November 29). Migration management: High-level Forum on legal pathways to protection and resettlement cooperation. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_7248 the European Commission published for the first time the breakdown of country pledges for the following year, 2023.European Commission. (2022). Resettlement pledges submitted by Member States for 2023. https://home-affairs.ec.europa.eu/resettlement-pledges-submitted-member… Although the number of participating countries remained similar (16), countries reflected challenges encountered in 2022 in their commitments. Thus, the overall number of refugees that countries committed to receive under these programmes decreased significantly to about 29,000 refugees.
Additional countries – such as Bulgaria, Ireland and Slovakia – made pledges for 2023, but the numbers did not balance the overall drop.
Some countries intended to continue increasing their annual quotas as planned in their national programmes. Belgium, for example, has been gradually increasing its quotas since 2013, with 1,250 refugees pledged in 2022 and a promise to reach 1,400 people in 2023 and 1,500 people in 2024. However, due to the asylum and reception crisis, the 2022 quota was not reached and the targets set for 2023 and 2024 were lowered. In October 2022, Belgium pledged to resettle 500 refugees and to admit 125 people under humanitarian admission programmes.
In Finland, selection missions were resumed in 2022, with an increased budget and quota (about 500 additional refugees), making a total of 1,500 refugees pledged for 2022.Ministry of the Interior | Sisäministeriö. (2021, November 18). Pelastajakoulutukseen, pakolaiskiintiön nostamiseen ja EXIT-toimintaan esitetään lisärahoitusta [Additional funding is presented for lifeguard training, raising the refugee quota and EXIT activities]. https://intermin.fi/-/pelastajakoulutukseen-pakolaiskiintion-nostamisee… However, commitments for 2023 dropped to 1,075, around 400 fewer people than in 2022, which meant returning to a pledge similar to 2021.
Following a decision of the new Swedish parliament, Sweden reduced its annual refugee quota from 5,000 to 900 refugees for 2023.Swedish Migration Agency | Migrationsverket. (2022). The Swedish resettlement programme. https://www.migrationsverket.se/English/About-the-Migration-Agency/Our-… France also adjusted its resettlement quota from 5,000 to 3,000 for 2023, due to the arrival of more than 100,000 displaced persons from Ukraine in 2022 and its commitments under the new Voluntary Solidarity Mechanism (3,000 relocations by mid-2023), in a context of substantial increases in asylum applications.
The unprecedented shortage in reception places in the Netherlands also resulted in the government’s decision on 26 August 2022 to temporarily pause resettlement selections out of Turkey,State Secretary for Justice and Security | Staatssecretaris van Justitie en Veiligheid. (2022, August 26). Kamerbrief over besluitvorming opvangcrisis [Parliamentary letter on decisions related to the reception crisis]. https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten/kamerstukken/2022/08/26/tk-brie… which will have an impact on the Dutch quota for 2023. Under AMIF, the country pledged 750 refugees under resettlement programmes, with no commitments to receive refugees under humanitarian admissions programmes. This represents a quota of about 4,000 less refugees pledged than in the previous period (2021-2022 pledges).European Commission. (2022, October 6). Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on the Report on Migration and Asylum on the Report on Migration and Asylum. COM(2022) 740 final. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=COM:2022:740:F…
