Immigration and pre-departure measures
Within the specific objective laid down in point (b) of the first subparagraph of Article 3(2) of this Regulation, in the light of the outcome of the policy dialogue as provided for in Article 13 of Regulation (EU) No 514/2014, and in accordance with the objectives of the national programmes defined in Article 19 of this Regulation, the Fund shall support actions taking place in a third country which focus on third-country nationals who comply with specific pre-departure measures and/or conditions set out in national law and in accordance with Union law where applicable, including those relating to the ability to integrate in the society of a Member State. In this context, the Fund shall support, in particular, the following actions:
(a)
information packages and campaigns to raise awareness and promote intercultural dialogue, including via user-friendly communication and information technology and websites;
(b)
the assessment of skills and qualifications, as well as enhancement of transparency and compatibility of skills and qualifications in a third country with those of a Member State;
(c)
training enhancing employability in a Member State;
(d)
comprehensive civic orientation courses and language tuition;
(e)
assistance in the context of applications for family reunification within the meaning of Council Directive 2003/86/EC ( 20 ) .
Integration measures
1. Within the specific objective laid down in point (b) of the first subparagraph of Article 3(2) of this Regulation, in the light of the outcome of the policy dialogue as provided for in Article 13 of Regulation (EU) No 514/2014, and in accordance with the objectives of the national programmes defined in Article 19 of this Regulation, the Fund shall support actions which take place in the framework of consistent strategies, taking into account the integration needs of third-country nationals at local and/or regional level. In this context, the Fund shall support, in particular, the following actions focusing on third-country nationals who are residing legally in a Member State or, where appropriate, who are in the process of acquiring legal residence in a Member State:
(a)
setting up and developing such integration strategies with the participation of local or regional actors, where appropriate, including needs analysis, the improvement of integration indicators, and evaluation, including participatory assessments, in order to identify best practices;
(b)
providing advice and assistance in areas such as housing, means of subsistence, administrative and legal guidance, health, psychological and social care, child care and family reunification;
(c)
actions introducing third-country nationals to the receiving society and actions enabling them to adapt to it, to inform them about their rights and obligations, to participate in civil and cultural life and to share the values enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union;
(d)
measures focusing on education and training, including language training and preparatory actions to facilitate access to the labour market;
(e)
actions designed to promote self-empowerment and to enable third-country nationals to provide for themselves;
(f)
actions that promote meaningful contact and constructive dialogue between third-country nationals and the receiving society, and actions to promote acceptance by the receiving society, including through the involvement of the media;
(g)
actions promoting both equality of access and equality of outcomes in relation to third-country nationals’ dealings with public and private services, including adaptation of those services to dealing with third-country nationals;
(h)
capacity-building of beneficiaries, as defined in point (g) of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) No 514/2014, including through exchanges of experience and best practices, and networking.
2. The actions referred to in paragraph 1 shall, wherever necessary, take into account the specific needs of different categories of third-country nationals, including beneficiaries of international protection, resettled or transferred persons and, in particular, vulnerable persons.
3. National programmes may allow for the inclusion in the actions referred to in paragraph 1 of immediate relatives of persons covered by the target group referred to in that paragraph, to the extent that it is necessary for the effective implementation of such actions.
4. For the purpose of programming and implementation of the actions referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, the partnership referred to in Article 12 of Regulation (EU) No 514/2014 shall include the authorities designated by Member States for the purpose of the management of the interventions of the European Social Fund.
Practical cooperation and capacity-building measures
Within the specific objective laid down in point (b) of the first subparagraph of Article 3(2) of this Regulation, in the light of the outcome of the policy dialogue as provided for in Article 13 of the Regulation (EU) No 514/2014, and in accordance with the objectives of the national programmes defined in Article 19 of this Regulation, the Fund shall support actions focusing on one or more of the following:
(a)
building up strategies promoting legal migration with a view to facilitating the development and implementation of flexible admission procedures;
(b)
supporting cooperation between third countries and the recruitment agencies, the employment services and the immigration services of Member States, as well as supporting Member States in their implementation of Union migration law, consultation processes with relevant stakeholders and expert advice or information exchanges on approaches which target specific nationalities or categories of third-country nationals with respect to the needs of the labour markets;
(c)
reinforcing the capacity of Member States to develop, implement, monitor and evaluate their immigration strategies, policies and measures across the different levels and departments of administrations, in particular enhancing their capacity to collect, analyse and disseminate detailed and systematic data and statistics on migration procedures and flows and residence permits, and develop monitoring tools, evaluation schemes, indicators and benchmarking for measuring the achievement of those strategies;
(d)
training of beneficiaries as defined in point (g) of Article 2 of Regulation (EU) No 514/2014 and of staff providing public and private services, including educational institutions, promoting the exchange of experiences and best practices, cooperation and networking, and intercultural capacities, as well as improving the quality of services provided;
(e)
building sustainable organisational structures for integration and diversity management, in particular through cooperation between different stakeholders enabling officials at various levels of national administrations to swiftly acquire information about experiences and best practices elsewhere and, where possible, to pool resources between relevant authorities as well as between governmental and non-governmental bodies to provide services to third-country nationals more effectively, inter alia, through one-stop-shops (i.e. coordinated integration-support centres);
(f)
contributing to a dynamic two-way process of mutual interaction, underlying integration strategies at local and regional level by developing platforms for the consultation of third-country nationals, exchanges of information among stakeholders and intercultural and religious dialogue platforms between third-country nationals’ communities, between those communities and the receiving society and/or between those communities and policy and decision-making authorities;
(g)
actions to promote and reinforce the practical cooperation between the relevant authorities of Member States, with a focus on, inter alia, exchanges of information, best practices and strategies, and the development and implementation of joint actions, including with a view to safeguarding the integrity of the immigration systems of Member States.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
