The Operational Programme of the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (OP AMIF) is the basic strategic document for drawing financial support from this fund for the period 2021 - 2027. The AMIF Regulation sets out four specific objectives to which support can be directed.
The Czech Republic focuses on the implementation of three of them in the OP AMIF. In short, these are the following areas:
- Integration;
- Returns;
- Asylum.
The Czech Republic can draw funds from the OP AMIF up to EUR 85,247,153, i.e. approximately CZK 2.2 billion (at an exchange rate of CZK 26/EUR).
It should be emphasized at the outset that this operational programme focuses exclusively on activities related to third-country nationals, this focus is based on European legislation and cannot be exceeded.
The most important specific objective in the context of the Czech Republic is the specific objective of Integration. Most of the funds are concentrated mainly on activities aimed at the successful integration of foreigners into society. To ensure proper integration, support will be provided to the Centres for the Support of the Integration of Foreigners, which operate at the regional level and are an important tool in the Czech Republic for ensuring the required level of integration of foreigners into Czech society. Other supported measures include, for example, Czech language courses, socio-cultural orientation courses or the provision of social and legal counselling. Another important supported measure is ensuring that foreigners are informed about their rights and obligations and facilitating related residence procedures. This specific objective will also finance activities that will contribute to the integration of persons displaced from Ukraine as a result of military aggression by the Russian Federation.
Under the Return objective, the Czech Republic focuses on supporting an integrated and coordinated approach to managing the return of persons at EU and Member State level. The measures will help develop capacities for the effective, dignified and sustainable return of foreigners to their countries of origin, together with reducing the factors motivating irregular migration. The most financially significant measures include the operation of the Voluntary Return Unit (VRU), which builds on activities implemented in the 2014-2020 programming period. Other supported measures include the provision of reintegration support and, in extreme cases, the implementation of forced returns. As part of the fight against irregular migration, the AMIF OP focuses on proactively combating labour exploitation, in particular by supporting labour inspectorates.
The aim of AMIF under the specific objective Asylum is to strengthen the Common European Asylum System, through the uniform application of the EU acquis throughout the EU, supporting the capacities of the Member States' asylum systems, and strengthening cooperation and partnership with EU institutions and third countries for the purpose of managing migration. Within the financial period 2021-2027, the Czech Republic has defined the streamlining of the asylum procedure as a priority. Another significant intention is to develop cooperation with the newly established EU Agency for Asylum (EUAA), including ensuring the secondment of national experts to this organization. In addition to investments in the creation of structures for cooperation with the EUAA, it is also planned to strengthen the personnel, technical and administrative capacities of the judicial review of applications for international protection or in the area of information on the countries of origin of foreigners.
Expected beneficiaries: state organizational units, territorial self-governing units, non-state non-profit organizations, educational and research organizations, international and intergovernmental organizations.
The AMIF OP was approved by the European Commission on August 4, 2022.
Following a significant change in the migration situation in the Czech Republic as a result of the Russian Federation's military aggression against Ukraine, the operational program was revised at the end of 2023, which the European Commission approved in May 2024. The change consisted mainly of increasing the priority of supporting integration services for persons displaced from Ukraine. For this reason, funds were transferred from specific objectives 1 "Asylum" and 3 "Returns" to specific objective 2 "Integration" in the amount of EUR 12 million.
At the same time, the Ministry of the Interior succeeded in the competition for the so-called specific action and thus obtained an additional EUR 15.2 million for the AMIF OP above the original basic allocation. The specific action consists of earmarked funds that the European Commission releases for a specific purpose into the operational programme of a Member State. In this case, the funds are used in specific objective 2 "Integration" to make people displaced from Ukraine independent. The specific action is implemented in the Czech Republic through open calls 12_24_018, 020 and 023.