The European Commission has launched a call for applications for the Promoting Complementary Pathways for People in Need of Protection and their Further Integration.

Objectives

The objective of the topic is to lead to the creation of new places for legal admission and an effective integration of people in need of international protection by designing and implementing complementary pathway programmes which would:

• Facilitate their enrolment in European universities;
• Facilitate access to work-related residence permits for individuals with relevant skills for the EU labour market;
• Enable legal and safe family reunification for the beneficiaries of international protection residing in the EU by providing assistance and support;
• Promote new initiatives or improve existing ones led by locally-established actors in the receiving country, e.g. civil society organisations, diaspora communities, local authorities, etc. carried out in cooperation with relevant authorities to establish community sponsorship programmes for the purpose of humanitarian admission and other complementary pathways.

Actions

Proposals should include one or more of the following actions (non-exhaustive list):

• Activities to address the barriers to legal pathways for people in need of international protection
• The development of programmes for the admission and subsequent integration of people in need of international protection in the Member States, including through tailor-made pre-departure and post-arrival measures;
• Activities to mobilise local support and build strong partnerships between key stakeholders, such as national and local authorities, local communities, employers, unions, higher education institutions, students, diasporas and other private sponsors.

Taking into account the transnational aspect of the topic, actions should also foster joint activities between partners in different Member States, such as:

• Activities to enable peer to peer learning between Member States building on the knowledge of experienced Member States using online activities to limit costs,
• Activities to develop or adapt common tools and guidebooks taking into consideration existing material;
• Activities to foster joint actions in the country of first asylum where people in need of international protection are identified to benefit from the programme, such as joint outreach activities and common information sessions about legal pathways opportunities;
• Activities to develop a transnational European network of practitioners.

To ensure the feasibility of their proposals, applicants should consult relevant national authorities at the proposal preparation stage and report on the results of this consultation process accordingly in their proposals.

Proposals are recommended to involve people in need of international protection in the design, implementation and evaluation of the programme.

Outcomes

Proposals should focus on contributing to the achievement of the following outcomes:

• Higher number of people in need of international protection benefiting from a complementary pathway to the EU and benefiting from pre-departure assistance and post-arrival integration measures;
• Strengthened support at the local and national level for the development of complementary pathways, particularly though building effective partnerships between relevant stakeholders;
• Enhanced dissemination and exchange of experiences, knowledge and practices on complementary pathway programmes across the EU, though the creation of networks where feasible.

Eligibility Criteria

• All EU Member States, with the exception of Denmark.
• For UK applicants: Please be aware that following the entry into force of the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement on 1 February 2020 and in particular Articles 127(6), 137 and 138, the references to natural or legal persons residing or established in a Member State of the European Union are to be understood as including natural or legal persons residing or established in the United Kingdom. UK entities are therefore eligible to participate under this call.

For more information, visit European Commission.