Resettlement of refugees: EU framework [EU Legislation in Progress]

Written by Anja Radjenovic (6th edition, updated on 24.05.2024).

On 13 July 2016, as part of the reform of the common European asylum system and the long-term policy on better migration management, the European Commission presented a proposal to provide for a permanent framework with standard common procedures for resettlement across the EU, to complement current national and multilateral resettlement initiatives.

Resettlement is a tool to help displaced persons in need of protection reach Europe safely and legally, and receive protection for as long as necessary. It is a durable solution that includes selection and transfer of refugees from a country where they seek protection to another country. In addition to providing refugees with international protection, its aim is to strengthen solidarity and responsibility-sharing between countries. For a resettlement to take place, the United Nations Refugee Agency has to determine an applicant is a refugee according to the 1951 Geneva Convention, and has to identify resettlement as the most appropriate solution.

Although the European Parliament and the Council reached a partial provisional agreement on the proposal in summer 2018, the Council was unable to endorse it; nor could it agree on a mandate for further negotiations. The co-legislators finally reached an agreement on 15 December 2022. Coreper approved the agreement on 8 February 2024. Parliament adopted the text during its plenary session of 10 April 2024. The regulation enters into force in June 2024 and will apply from 12 June 2026.

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