Latest progress with Finland’s EU Home Affairs Funds programming for the years 2021–2027

Ministry of the Interior
Publication date 28.10.2020 15.34
News item
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The planning of the 2021–2027 Home Affairs Funds programming period has progressed to the programme drafting stage. The final programmes are due for approval at the European Commission in March 2021.

The schedule is tight. The stakeholders involved in the planning process submitted their latest contributions to the Finnish Ministry of the Interior in the beginning of October. 

Their texts will be used to produce drafts of the programmes, which will then be reviewed by the working group in charge of the programming exercise. The working group includes experts in immigration, integration, border control and policing.

The drafts will be sent out for comments, and targeted consultations will be held between November 2020 and January 2021. The idea is to give all the interested parties an opportunity to comment on the drafts and their contents.

Final programmes due for approval at the European Commission in March 2021

The final programmes confirmed by the Finnish Government are due for approval at the European Commission in March 2021. 

In addition to the programming documents themselves, a complementary implementation plan will be drawn up for each fund in the spring of 2021. The document corresponding to an implementation plan during the current programming period is called an implementation programme. The implementation plans will also need to be confirmed by the Finnish Government, but they will not be submitted to the Commission.

Aiming for programmes based on a strategic approach

The programming process is designed to generate national programmes for the European Union’s Home Affairs Funds for the years 2021–2027. During the new programming period, there will be three EU Home Affairs Funds: the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMF), the Internal Security Fund (ISF), and the Integrated Border Management Fund (BMVI). 

The objective of the programming exercise is to generate programmes for each fund that are based on a strategic approach. The programmes will prioritise objectives and measures that add value on an EU level in areas that these financial instruments are specifically designed to address. Value on an EU level means measures that complement or increase the impact of national measures. 

Stakeholders integral to programming

The stakeholders invited to contribute to the programming exercise have produced content describing the starting point in respect of each fund, any identified challenges, and the objectives to be pursued during the new programming period. The measures needed to achieve the objectives will be determined for each objective. 

The stakeholders represent the authorities, non-governmental organisations, and labour market organisations that operate in the sphere of influence of each of the funds. The stakeholders also consult with their own networks before drawing up their contributions. This is designed to widen the scope of the programming exercise and to promote partnership. 

More information about the 2021–2027 programming period and, for example, legislative work relating to the European Union’s Home Affairs Funds is available on our website here (in Finnish).

More information about the programming exercise:

Senior Specialist Kristiina Mauriala, tel. +358 (0)29 548 8275, [email protected] 
Senior Specialist Iikka Saunamäki, tel. +358 (0)29 548 8267, [email protected] 
Senior Specialist Virpi Karjalainen, tel. +358 (0)29 548 8392, [email protected]