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Box 3. Digital innovation in 2023

Box 3. Digital innovation in 2023

Box 3. Digital innovation

In December 2023, the European Parliament and the European Council reached political agreement on the new Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act, as put forth by the European Commission.222 The aim is to regulate AI systems which are used in migration, asylum and border control management and to support competent authorities in accurate, non-discriminatory and transparent decisions. AI systems should respect fundamental rights, such as non-discrimination and the protection of personal data and private life, and comply with the recast QD and other EU legislation. The act provides a classification of high-risk AI systems, such as ones used in the context of migration and asylum, and defines the requirements for their use.

At the country level, digitalisation initiatives continued throughout 2023 to enhance the efficiency and quality of asylum processes. For example, in Greece, the Ministry of Migration and Asylum upgraded the Greek Asylum Service’s unified information system for reception and asylum to “Alkyoni II” in May 2023. With the upgrade, several services for asylum seekers and refugees are provided in multilingual and digital formats, such as registering applications, booking interviews and submitting documents. Users can also renew the International Protection Applicant’s Card and the Uniform Format Residence Permit, in addition to requesting travel documents.223 Refugee Support Aegean expressed concern when technical glitches resulted in the suspension of services from May-August 2023, exposing some applicants to the risk of detention and deportation.224

A preliminary study on the reform of the Aliens Act in Finland concluded that the immigration and asylum systems need to be further digitalised to better serve clients and uphold fundamental and human rights.225 The most urgent reform by the Ministry of the Interior is to simplify and streamline the residence permit system. The initiative forms part of a pilot project funded by the European Commission to formalise an EU regulation on a digitalised EU residence permit card, with a 2D barcode including biometric data.226 In addition, the Ministry of the Interior granted EUR 11.4 million of funding from the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) to digital innovation projects to improve the capacity and efficiency of the asylum procedure.227

The first project is a study carried out by the Finnish Immigration Service on the use of a transcription tool to improve the quality and efficacy of asylum interviews. Minutes of the interview would be produced through speech-to-text, allowing to clarify matters during the interview and shortening the duration of the procedure. A second project on Predictive Country Information, “ENNACOI”, aims to create a new working process in the Country Information Service which produces COI. The system will anticipate and prepare for fluctuations in the number of asylum applicants.

The Swedish Migration Agency noted that administrative processes and the risk of incorrect payments were reduced with the introduction of the digitalised LMA card, which certifies that an asylum seeker has the right to stay in the country and is entitled to healthcare and medicine. The digital card was introduced in 2022 and resulted in savings of approximately SEK 6.5 million in 2022.228

Box 3. Digitalisation of appeals

The digitalisation of appeals in international protection cases continued throughout 2023 through remote hearings, while shortcomings were identified by civil society organisations. In Norway, a legislative proposal was made in March 2023 for the possibility to hold remote hearings at the UNE.229 In April 2024, NOAS commented on this proposal, noting that it agrees with the ministry that decisive factors to hold remote meetings are that the applicant’s legal certainty is safeguarded and the person consents to participate using teleconferencing technology.230

Displaced persons from Ukraine

The Ministry of the Interior and Community (BMI) in Germany, in partnership with BAMF, the company Wunderflats and a non-profit social enterprise ProjectTogether, developed a housing mediation platform (‘Helfende Wände’) for displaced persons from Ukraine, which is available in German, English and Ukrainian. To ease the burden on municipalities, the platform provides offers of private housing to beneficiaries of temporary protection. It complements the wide-ranging information for displaced persons from Ukraine provided by the central portal of the Federal government through BAMF, “Germany4Ukraine.231

The Migration Department of the Lithuanian Ministry of the Interior began to issue digital residence permits to beneficiaries of temporary protection from Ukraine. The digital temporary residence permit, which includes biometric data, is issued in a PDF format in English and Lithuanian through the Lithuanian Migration Information System (MIGRIS). This has resulted in savings in cost, time and staff availability, in addition to accelerating the extension of the permits. Limitations reported by the Migration Department were linked to technical issues, the lack of digital literacy, and interoperability and standardisation of a digital document across Member States.232