Parliament approves extra €69.6 million to help cope with migrants

Three agencies managing migration flows into the EU and two EU funds for migration measures should get a €69.6 million budget boost for extra staff and other expenses for this year, after Parliament backed a European Commission proposal on Tuesday (7 July). Parliament has been calling for the bigger budgets in the wake of the April tragedies that cost the lives of around 1,200 migrants.

Parliament noted that even this increase in financing and staff numbers may not suffice to meet real needs in handling the flow of migrants in the Mediterranean basin, let alone possible future migration from the Ukraine.

The budget increase of €75.7m in commitments and €69.6m in payments would be financed mostly with funds first planned for the Galileo European satellite navigation system, which MEPs want to be replenished in 2016.

In the wake of Parliament's approval, the EU border management agency FRONTEX will receive €26.8m (in commitment and payment appropriations), tripling the funding available for the Triton and Poseidon operations.

The European Asylum Support Office and the European Police Office (Europol) will receive more staff, while the two main sources of migration-related funding - the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) and the Internal Security Fund (ISF) will receive additional commitment appropriations of €57 million (€45.6 million in payment appropriations) and €5 million (€4 million in payment appropriations), respectively.

EU ministers approved the increases on 19 June. Parliament approved the measure by 592 votes to 75, with 41 abstentions.