Supporting the preparation of National Implementation Plans for the Pact on Migration and Asylum

This multi-country Action was implemented by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), in collaboration with the European Commission, in five Member States - Belgium, Estonia, Greece, Italy and Portugal - in order to support them with the preparation of their National Implementation Plans (NIPs) for the Pact on Migration and Asylum. The Action delivered tailor-made recommendations to each beneficiary authority, adapted to national - and where relevant, regional - specificities.

National authorities in charge of overall coordination of the NIP or coordination of specific thematic NIP building blocks were the main project beneficiaries.

Context

Following their adoption by the European Parliament and Council, the new rules on migration and asylum introduced by the Pact entered into force on 11 June 2024 and will enter into application after two years. To assist the transposition of the new rules, the European Commission developed a Common Implementation Plan, structured around ten building blocks, to guide Member States in designing their NIPs by 12 December 2024.

In this context, the European Commission launched an extraordinary on-demand call of the Technical Support Instrument in June 2024 to assist EU countries with the preparation of their NIPs. Belgium, Estonia, Greece, Italy and Portugal were some of the Member States that requested this support for specific Building Blocks (BB) of the EC Common Implementation Plan, according to the needs of each country. 

Support delivered

The support measures encompassed ‘AS IS’, ‘TO-BE’ and ‘GAP’ analyses of relevant legislative and regulatory frameworks, administrative processes, and capacity needs related to the building blocks prioritized by Member States, relying on desk reviews, focus group discussions, interviews and good practice identification. Moreover, the Action facilitated technical consultations among relevant national authorities and coordination mechanisms dedicated to the preparation of the National Implementation Plans. Overall, the Action produced five national baseline assessments and identified concrete recommendations related to implementing reforms, while strengthening their institutional and administrative capacity to inform the preparation of the National Implementation Plans.

Results achieved

In Belgium, the recommendations on the reforms of the Guardianship Service were validated, while through extensive outreach and consultation, the project ensured the engagement and buy-in of key stakeholders. 

In Estonia the recommendations were validated by the national authorities and judged realistic, practical, needs-based, and oriented towards the future development of contingency and crisis management within the context of the EU. 

In Greece, Italy and Portugal, the analyses and related recommendations for reforms, including organisational structures, administrative procedures, human resources, infrastructure and equipment requirements were validated by the national authorities and were instrumental in the preparation of the NIPs.

In each country, the Action fostered internal coordination amongst authorities in charge of preparing the NIP, and alignment with EU standards.

At the end of the project, Member States made use of the project recommendations to draft and submit their NIP in line with EU obligations.