EU Asylum Agency issues guidelines for a common approach to community sponsorship

The European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) has issued guidelines for an EU approach to community sponsorship schemes. As part of a broader EU strategy to address the growing challenges of forced displacement, these schemes involve national authorities, civil society, and individuals, coming together to support the reception and integration of refugees and displaced people.

The EU's efforts to support community sponsorship are aligned with global efforts to find new and durable solutions for refugees and promote more welcoming and inclusive societies.

The EUAA guidelines

The new guidelines aim to increase the number of admission places available to those in need of protection, while establishing minimum quality standards for the different phases of community sponsorship across the Union. Ultimately, they provide more durable solutions for those in need of international protection.

The guidelines emphasise the need for flexibility to encompass different models developed within varying national contexts. They also highlight the importance of a multi-stakeholder approach, involving non-state actors such as private citizens and civil society, to support the integration of refugees.

This new approach to community sponsorship draws on insights from working group meetings with EU national authorities, the Commission, the EUAA, international organisations, and civil society.

Safe Homes: lessons learnt from successful projects

The guidelines reflect lessons learnt from the implementation of the AMIF-funded Safe Homes programme, which shares similarities with community sponsorship schemes. Both Safe Homes as well as community sponsorship prompt private citizens to actively engage in supporting refugees’ integration by ensuring suitable accommodation and helping them find their place in Europe, promoting social cohesion and creating more welcoming societies.

Background

Fully recognising the potential of community sponsorship to further strengthen traditional resettlement programmes, the Commission has actively promoted community sponsorship initiatives among EU countries:

• By launching a call for proposals under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) Union Actions Programme.
• By encouraging EU countries to adopt these initiatives, in its 2020 Recommendation on legal pathways to protection in the EU, for instance.
• By establishing a dedicated working group on community sponsorship under the umbrella of the EUAA Resettlement and Humanitarian Admission network.
• By developing EU-wide resettlement and humanitarian admission schemes, supported by dedicated AMIF funding.